THE  BOISE  SURVEY 

J.  B.  SEARS 


DUCATIONAL  <;TTr 


EDUCATIONAL  SURVEY  SERIES 


The  Boise  Survey 


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EDUCATIONAL  SURVEY  SERIES 

The   Boise   Survey 

A  Concrete  Study  of  the  Admin- 
istration of  a  City  School  System 

By  J.   B.   SEARS 


ASSOCIATE     PROFESSOR    OF     EDUCATION 
LELAND  STANFORD   JUNIOR  UNIVER8ITT 

Assisted  by 
William  M.  Proctor 

and 
J.  Harold  Williams 


J    >    » ^     '  •    • 


YONKERS-ON-HUDSON,    NEW  YORK 

WORLD  BOOK  COMPANY 
1920 


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DIRECTOR'S   LETTER   OF   TRANSMITTAL 

Mr.  Oliver  O.  Haga,  President  Board  of  Trustees,  Boise  Inde- 
pendent School  District,  Boise,  Idaho 

Dear  Sir: 

In  accordance  with  the  authorization  by  resolution  of  your 
board,  of  date  April  17,  1919,  I  have  the  honor  to  submit  to  you 
herewith  the  complete  report  of  the  survey  of  the  public  school 
system  of  your  city. 

In  carrying  out  the  purposes  of  your  Board  the  survey  staff, 
consisting  of: 

J.  B.  Sears,  Director  of  the  Survey,  Associate  Professor  of 
Education,  Leland  Stanford  Junior  University; 

William  M.  Proctor,  Assistant  Professor  of  Education,  Le- 
land Stanford  Junior  University;  and 

J.  Harold  Williams,  Director  of  Research,  Whittier  (Calif.) 
State  School  for  Delinquents, 

spent  approximately  two  weeks,  beginning  May  19,  in  active 
study  and  observation  of  the  schools  in  operation.  During  that 
time  conferences  were  held  with  your  board,  with  the  superin- 
tendent of  schools,  and  with  numerous  school  principals  and  other 
school  officers;  careful  examination  was  made  of  financial  and 
educational  records,  together  with  the  systems  iised  in  reporting, 
recording,  filing,  and  using  such  data;  the  whole  school  plant 
was  thoroughly  examined;  standard  tests  were  applied  in  three 
different  subjects  to  a  large  number  of  children  in  the  elementary 
schools;  and  numerous  observations  were  made  of  classroom  in- 
struction. 

While  carrying  out  this  work  many  data  touching  the  various 
subjects  dealt  with  in  this  report  were  gathered,  and,  through  the 
courteous  assistance  of  several  students  from  the  commercial  de- 
partment of  the  high  school,  a  considerable  amount  of  preliminary 
tabulation  was  effected,  thus  making  it  possible  to  direct  our 
observation  and  study  more  definitely  to  the  point  while  on  the 
ground. 


434538 


vi  Director's  Letter  of  Transmittal 

In  pieparing  this  report  each  member  of  the  staff  was  made 
responsible  for  organizing  certain  materials  and  for  writing  cer- 
tain chapters ;  yet  special  point  was  made  of  keeping  all  members 
in  close  touch  with  every  line  of  investigation  carried  out  and, 
both  while  in  Boise  and  while  writing  the  report,  numerous  con- 
ferences were  held.  It  is  correct  to  say,  therefore,  that  every 
main  feature  of  the  report  represents  the  judgment  of  the  entire 
staff.  While  the  Director  must  assume  responsibility  for  the 
general  plan  of  the  survey  and  for  the  editorial  work  on  the  report, 
authorship  is  otherwise  indicated  for  each  chapter. 

The  report  has  attempted  not  only  to  present  conclusions  and 
to  make  recommendations  but  to  state  the  facts  and  reasons  upon 
which  such  conclusions  and  recommendations  are  based.  We 
have  tried  to  speak  frankly,  either  in  commendation  or  condemna- 
tion, and  if  frankness  at  times  seems  to  approach  bluntness  it  is 
with  the  view  of  convincing  the  busy  citizen  of  the  city  that  his 
help  is  needed  if  the  city  is  to  have  a  progressive  school  policy. 

It  is  hoped  that  one  important  function  of  this  report  will  be 
to  reveal  to  the  taxpayers  of  your  city  that  their  schools  consti- 
tute one  of  Boise's  largest  and  most  important  enterprises  and 
one  the  interests  of  which  are  intimately  interwoven  with  all  the 
social,  intellectual,  religious,  civic,  and  business  interests  of  the 
city. 

The  wishes  of  your  board  that  the  schools  be  in  every  sense 
open  to  the  survey  staff  were  fully  realized.  Special  thanks  are 
due  Superintendent  C.  E.  Rose  and  his  entire  staff  of  supervisors, 
principals,  and  teachers,  as  well  as  other  school  officers,  especially 
including  Mr.  Charles  S.  Kingsley,  clerk  of  the  board,  and  also 
the  several  high  school  students  above  mentioned  for  the  very 
considerable  amount  of  intelligent  assistance  which  they  so  cheer- 
fully rendered. 

Respectfully  submitted, 

J.  B.  Sears 

Director  of  the  Survey 
Stanford  University,  California 
December  s,  1919 


CONTENTS 

Page 

Director's  Letter  of  Transmittal     v 

Chapter 

I.  Boise's  Educational  Problem i 


Boise  a  growing  city  —  Composition  of  the  population  —  Illiteracy  — 
Wealth  and  occupations  —  How  the  city  spends  its  money  —  The  prob- 
lem stated 

II.  Organization  and  Administration 22 

The  legal  status  of  the  district  —  Significance  of  such  wide  legal  powers  — 
The  administrative  organization  —  Imperfections  in  organization  —  A 
right  plan  of  organization  —  Summary  and  recommendations 

III.  The  Teaching  Staff 41 

Size  and  development  of  the  staff  —  The  training  of  Boise's  teachers  — 
Experience  and  tenure  of  Boise's  teachers  —  The  ages  of  Boise's  teachers 

—  Social  composition  of  Boise's  teaching  staff  —  Boise's  salary  schedule 

—  Summary  and  recommendations 

rV.  The  Curriculum 64 

Extent  of  Boise's  educational  program  —  What  a  curriculimi  is  —  The  ele- 
mentary school  curriculum  in  Boise  —  What  a  printed  course  of  study 
should  contain  —  Boise's  outline  of  courses  —  Time  allotment,  or  the  rela- 
tive importance  of  studies  —  Simimary  and  reconunendations 

V.  Efficiency  of  the  Instruction 82 

General  considerations  —  Observations  of  classroom  work  —  Standard- 
ized tests  —  The  test  in  handwriting  —  The  test  in  spelling  —  The  test  in 
arithmetic  —  Simimary  —  Recommendations 

VI.  Progress  of  the  Children  in  the  Schools  .     128 

The  distribution  of  the  pupils  —  Accelerated  pupils  —  Retarded  pupils — 
Extent  of  retardation  —  Results  of  retardation  —  Causes  of  retardation 

—  Summary 

VII.  Individual  Differences  AMONG  THE  Children,     141 

The  variability  of  children  —  Mental  differences  —  Intelligence  test- 
ing—  Superior  children  —  Opportunity  classes  for  gifted  children  — 
Backward  children  —  Batavia  teaching  for  backward  pupils  —  Special 
dasses  for  backward  pupils  —  Feeble-minded  children  —  Examples  of 
feeble-mindedness  —  Differences  in  conduct  —  Juvenile  delinquency  in 
the  schoob  —  Dependent  children  —  Physically  handicapp€«l  children  — 
Research  work  in  the  schools —  Summary  and  recommendations 


viii  Contents 

Chapter  Paob 

VIII.   The  Children's  Health i6i 

What  Boise  is  doing  —  Additional  nurses  needed  —  A  brief  health  survey 
by  the  teachers  —  Posture  —  Nutrition  —  Tuberculosis  —  Contagion  in 
the  schools  —  Ventilation  and  health  —  Teeth  —  Nose  and  throat  — 
Hearing  —  Eye  troubles  —  Nervous  conditions  —  Speech  problems  — 
Mental  conditions  and  health  —  Play  and  health  —  Sources  of  infection 

—  Hygiene  teaching  —  The  teacher's  health  —  The  janitor  and  health  — 
Open-air  schools  —  Summary  and  reconunendationa 

IX.  Buildings  and  Grounds 192 

The  building  situation  in  Boise  —  Buildings  measured  by  standard  scale — 
The  school  grounds  —  Playground  equipment  —  Orientation  of  buildings 

—  Type  of  buildings  —  Interior  construction  —  Basements  — Heating 
and  ventilation  —  Fire  protection  —  Cleaning  system  —  Artificial  light- 
ing —  Clocks,  gongs,  telephones  —  Drinking  fountains  —  Lavatories  and 
baths  —  Toilets  —  Classrooms  —  Blackboards  —  Lighting  of   classrooms 

—  Windows  —  Window  shades  —  Cloakrooms  and  wardrobes  —  Class- 
room equipment  —  Special  rooms  —  Age  and  efficiency  —  Summary  and 
recommendations 

X.  The  High  School 223 

Articulation  between  the  elementary  grades  and  the  high  school  —  Build- 
ing and  equipment  —  The  high  school  faculty  —  Curriculum  features  — 
Certain  phases  of  the  internal  administration  —  The  need  for  a  junior  ool- 
I^;e  in  Boise  —  Summary  and  recommendations 

XI.  Educational  and  Vocational  Guidance    .   .     247 

The  need  for  educational  and  vocational  guidance  in  Boise  —  A  reason- 
able program  of  educational  and  vocational  guidance  for  Boise  —  Sum- 
mary and  recommendations 

XII.  Costs  and  Business  Management 26a 

The  problem  stated  —  How  Boise's  school  expenditures  are  distributed  — 
The  business  management  of  Boise's  schools  —  Summary  and  recommen- 
dations 

XIII.  Summary  and  Recommendations 283 

Index      287 


THE  BOISE  SURVEY 

CHAPTER  I 

BOISE'S   EDUCATIONAL   PROBLEM 

(Sears) 

THE  educational  problem  which  the  city  of  Boise  is  at- 
tempting to  solve  will  be  more  clearly  understood  if 
stated  first  of  all  in  terms  which  characterize  the  community 
and  its  people.  Who  the  people  are,  what  they  are  working 
at,  the  geographical,  economic,  and  social  forces  with  which 
they  must  cope,  all  combine,  as  similar  forces  do  everywhere, 
to  determine  the  kind  of  schools  that  are  needed. 

Boise  is  a  city  of  approximately  35,000  inhabitants,^  lo- 
cated in  the  broad,  fertile  valley  of  the  Boise  River  and  in 
the  center  of  the  most  densely  populated  portion  of  the 
state.  Though  the  state  of  Idaho  comprises  a  large  area  of 
the  western  slope  of  the  Rocky  Mountain  system  and  holds 
large  mineral  resources,  it  has  in  the  north,  and  particularly 
in  the  south  and  west  portions  of  the  state  along  the  Snake 
River  and  its  tributaries,  very  large  agricultural  possibilities. 
Government  reports  show  that  the  soil,  climate,  and  irriga- 
tion possibilities  all  promise  a  large  agricultural  future  for 
the  state.  According  to  the  census  report  of  19 10,  about 
one  tenth  of  the  land  was  in  farms,  the  land  of  Ada  County, 
15  per  cent  of  which  was  then  under  irrigation,  being  at 
that  time  worth  $125  per  acre. 

The  capital  of  the  state  and  the  couniy  seat  of  Ada 
County  are  located  at  Boise,  which,  with  its  size  and  other 
resources,  make  it  the  chief  center  of  population  between 
Salt  Lake  City  on  the  southeast  and  Spokane  and  Portland 

1  United  States  Census  estimate  for  1917  was  34,547. 

I 


\t 


The  Boise  Survey 


on  the  northwest.  For  obvious  reasons,  therefore,  Boise 
should  become  the  educational  center,  not  only  of  Idaho, 
but  of  a  goodly  portion  of  the  large  section  of  country  known 
as  the  Inland  Empire,  and  should  lead  in  the  establishment 
of  higher  and  higher  standards  for  public  education  in  that 
territory,  just  as  Los  Angeles  leads  in  the  Southwest. 


BOISE   A   GROWING   CITY 

Idaho  as  compared  with  the  United  States  as  a  whole  is 
growing  rapidly  in  population,  and  the  same  is  true  of  the 
city  of  Boise,  as  the  figures  of  Table  i  from  the  United 
States  Bureau  of  the  Census  will  show.  To  see  just  what 
this  means  for  the  city  of  Boise  we  have  only  to  compare 
its  rate  of  growth  with  that  of  other  cities  of  its  class  in 
the  United  States.  From  the  57  cities  with  estimated  popu- 
lations (191 7)  of  between  30,000  and  40,000/  Table  2 
presents  facts  for  26  cities.^ 

TABLE  1 

Boise's  Rate  of  Increase  in  Population  as  Compared  with  That 
OF  Idaho  and  That  of  the  United  States 


Population 
of  State 

Population 
of  Boise 

Per  Cent  Increase  over  Pre- 
ceding Census 

Census 

United 
States 

Idaho 

Boise 

1910 

1900 

1890 

1880 

1870 

325,594 

161,772 

88,548 

32,610 

14,999 

17,358 
5,957 

2,3" 

1,899 
995 

21.0 
20.7 
25.5 
30.1 

101.3 

82.7 

171. 5 

117.4 

191. 4 

157.8 

21.7 

90.9 

1  See  Financial  Statistics  of  Cities  Having  a  Population  of  over  30,000 
in  191 7.  Department  of  Commerce,  Bureau  of  the  Census,  Washing- 
ton, D.  C. 

2  None  of  the  western  cities  of  the  57  were  omitted;  otherwise  all  states 
having  cities  of  this  size  are  represented  by  at  least  one  such  city. 


Boise's  Educational  Problem 


TABLE  2 

Size  and  Rate  of  Growth  of  Selected  Cities 

(Government  estimates  for  1917)^ 


City 


1.  Tulsa,  Okla 

2.  Everett,  Wash 

3.  BOISE,  IDAHO     .   .   . 

4.  Bellingham,  Wash.  .   .    . 

5.  Charleston,  W.  Va.      .   . 

6.  Portsmouth,  Va 

7.  Shreveport,  La 

8.  Stamford,  Conn 

9.  Ogden,  Utah 

10.  Niagara  Falls,  N.  Y.   .    . 

11.  Brookline,  Mass 

12.  Colorado  Springs,  Colo.  . 

13.  Austin,  Texas 

14.  Madison,  Wis 

15.  Stockton,  Calif 

16.  Jackson,  Mich 

17.  Colimibia,  S.  C 

18.  Aurora,  111 

19.  Joplin,  Mo 

20.  Orange,  N.  J 

21.  Wilmington,  N.  C.  .   .    . 

22.  Zanesville,  Ohio   .... 

23.  Easton,  Penn 

24.  Knoxville,  Tenn 

25.  Newport,  Ky 

26.  Ehnira,  N.  Y 


Population 

1910 

1917 

16,792 

31,541 

24,814 

35,486 

27,358 

34,547 

24,298 

32,985 

22,996 

30,500 

33,190 

39,651 

28,015 

35,230 

25,138 

30,907 

25,580 

31,404 

30,445 

37,353 

27,792 

32,730 

29,078 

32,971 

29,869 

34,814 

25,531 

30,699 

23,253 

35,358 

31,433 

35,363 

26,319 

34,611 

29,807 

34,204 

32,073 

33,308 

29,630 

33,080 

25,748 

30,104 

28,026 

30,863 

28,528 

30,533 

36,346 

38,582 

30,309 

31,927 

37,176 

38,120 

Per  Cent  of  Increase 


1900-1910 


1,208.1 
216.6 
191.4 
119. 7 
107,2 

90.5 
75-0 
57.1 
56.8 

56.5 
39-4 
37-9 
34-2 
33-2 
32.8 
24.8 
24.7 
23-4 
23.2 
22.7 
22.7 
19. 1 
130 
II. 4 

71 
4.2 


1910-1917 


87.8 
50.9 
26.2 
35.7 
32.6 
19.4 

25-7 

22.4 

22.7 

22.6 

17.7 

13.3 

16.5 

20.2 

52.0 

12.5 

31-5 

14.7 

3.8 

II. 6 

16. 1 

10. 1 

7.0 

6.1 

5.3 

2.5 


From  this  table  it  becomes  clear  that  Boise  is  one  of  the 
most  rapidly  growing  cities  of  its  class  in  the  country,  rank- 
ing third  of  26  cities  in  its  rate  of  growth  from  1900  to  19 10, 

1  Estimated.    See  Note  i  above. 


4  The  Boise  Survey 

and  holding  high  place  in  the  group  during  the  seven  years 
since  the  last  regular  census.  The  city  is  not  crowded,  and 
since  it  can  expand  in  every  direction  it  need  never  face  the 
problems  which  come  with  too  great  density  of  population. 
With  the  growth  that  is  practically  guaranteed  by  the  soil 
and  mineral  resources  of  die  surrounding  country,  Boise  can 
confidently  expect  to  become  a  city  of  50,000  before  many 
years  and  accordingly  that  her  expenditures  for  education 
will  be  constantly  on  the  increase. 


COMPOSITION   OF   THE   POPULATION 

/.    Racial  Groups 

It  is  not  merely  the  rate  of  growth  in  population  alone 
that  creates  perplexing  educational  problems  in  a  city.  The 
fact  of  racial  elements  is  often  quite  as  important.  Inquiry 
into  Boise's  present  and  prospective  future  in  this  respect 
therefore  is  pertinent. 

Boise's  future  will  depend  upon  the  development  of  the 
eleven  Mountain  and  Pacific  Coast  states.  In  1910  these 
eleven  states  had  a  combined  population  of  6,825,821.  The 
state  of  Idaho  alone  had  325,594,  and  the  city  of  Boise 
17,358.  Table  3  shows  the  racial  composition  of  the  people 
of  these  groups,  together  with  that  for  the  United  States  as 
a  whole.  While  these  facts  for  the  city  of  Boise  are  not 
entirely  complete,  they  are  complete  enough  to  show  that 
the  city  does  not  differ  materially  from  the  state  as  a  whole. 
The  facts  of  this  table  somewhat  condensed,  together  with 
I  figures  for  the  next  previous  census,  are  shown  graphically 
'in  Figure  i  (Boise  partially  excepted).  From  this  it  will  be 
seen,  not  only  that  Idaho  and  the  city  of  Boise  stand  rela- 
tively high  in  native  and  white  stock,  and  that  the  foreign 
element  in  the  West  as  compared  with  the  United  States  as 
a  whole  is  on  the  decline,  but  that  for  the  state  of  Idaho 
this  decline  is  more  pronounced  than  it  is  for  either  of  the 
western  groups  of  states.    This  is  made  even  more  obvious 


Boise's  Educational  Problem 


TABLE  3 

Racial  Composition  of  PopuLAnoN 


Per  Cent  of  Total  Population  (U.  S.  Census) 

White 

Negro 

Orien- 
tal 
and 
AU 

Others 

Natives,  White 

Foreign 
Born 
White 

Total 

Native 

(AU 
Races) 

Political  Division 

Total 

Native 
Par- 
entage 

Foreign 

or 
Mixed 
Par- 
entage 

Total 
Foreign 

(AU 
Races) 

United  States    .   . 
Mountain  States   . 
Pacific  States     .    . 

Idaho  

BOISE 

88.9 
95. 7 
96.0 
98.0 
97.7 

'1:1 

0.7 
0.2 
0.7 

0.4 
35 

u 

1.6 

74-4 
79.1 

lit 
84.6 

S3. 8 
55. 7 
SO.  3 
62.5 
67.1 

20.5 
23.4 
25.1 
23.1 
17-5 

14.5 
16.6 
20.5 
12.4 
13.1 

85.3 
82.8 
77-2 
86.9 

14.7 
17.2 
22.8 
13-1 

when  we  consider  that  the  native  stock  in  Idaho  has  in- 
creased from  69.4  per  cent  of  the  state's  population  in  1880 
to  86.9  per  cent  in  1910,  or  that  the  foreign  group  has  de- 


Per  cent         ( 

1910 
UNfTEO  STATES 
1900 


1910 


MOUNTAIN  STATES 
1900 


f9lO 
RftClFiC  STATES 

1900 


IDAHO 


1910 
1900 


BOISEisro 


10       2p       30       40       JO       6iO      7p       8p       90       IC 


I         ■  I 


mmmm^i^m 


mmfmm^ 


I    I 


m^^f^^^^>m\:^-i:ii 


mm^mmim^ 


I       I       I r 


mm^mm^r^m^ 


I     \ 


I        I       I r 


Ptr   cent    O    10    20   30    40   5Q    do 


7p   60   Jo 


Fig.  I.    Composition  of  Population  in  Boise  Compared  with  That 
OF  Larger  Areas  (U.  S.  Census) 


6  The  Boise  Survey 

creased  in  this  time  from  30.6  per  cent  to  13.1  per  cent  of 
the  population.  It  should  be  said  here,  in  view  of  our  lack 
of  complete  statistics,  that  foreign  faces  and  names  among 
the  school  children  of  Boise,  as  well  as  some  study  of  the 
parentage  of  the  pupils  taking  tests  in  this  survey,  tend  to 
confirm  our  judgment  that  the  above  statistics  fairly  char- 
acterize the  population  of  the  Boise  Independent  School  Dis- 
trict at  the  present  time,  and  that  it  is  safe  to  say  that  the 
educational  problems  produced  by  the  presence  of  children 
from  foreign  countries  are  at  present  insignificant,  and  that 
in  respect  to  race  the  city's  school  population  is  rapidly  be- 
coming more  and  more  homogeneous. 


2,    Age  Groups 

The  problem  of  race  is  but  one  angle  from  which  we  need 
to  study  the  population  of  a  city  in  order  to  be  able  clearly 
to  state  its  educational  problem.  A  second  question  is: 
How  many  children  has  the  city  to  educate,  and  how  many 
vigorous  young  adults  are  there  to  produce  the  necessary 
wealth  with  which  to  pay  for  schools?  The  answer  to  this 
question  varies  greatly  in  different  parts  of  the  country,  as 
Table  4  shows.  This  table  was  compiled  from  the  19 10 
census  report,  and  while  not  entirely  accurate  for  the  present 
it  is  believed  to  offer  a  reasonably  correct  description  of  the 
present  population. 

From  this  table,  which  divides  the  total  population  into 
four  groups,  it  will  be  seen  that  there  is  fairly  wide  variation 
among  cities  in  each  group,  that  the  distribution  for  the 
state  of  Idaho  does  not  vary  widely  from  that  for  the  United 
States  as  a  whole,  but  that  that  for  the  city  of  Boise  varies 
considerably  from  both. 

In  this  study  we  are  especially  concerned  with  two  groups: 
those  5  to  19  and  those  20  to  44  years  old.  The  5  to  19 
years  age-group  is  a  fair  index  to  the  per  cent  of  the  total 
population  for  whom  regular  schooling  must  be  provided. 
The  20  to  44  years  age-group  is  a  fair  index  to  the  wealth- 


Boise's  Educational  Problem 

TABLE  4 

Age  Distribution  of  Population 

(United  States  Census  of  1910) 


I. 
2. 
3- 
4. 
S- 
6. 

7- 
8. 

9- 
10. 
II. 
12. 

13- 
14. 
IS- 
16. 

17- 
18. 
19. 
20. 
21. 
22. 

23- 
24. 

25. 
26. 


Name  of  City 


United  States 

Idaho     

Everett,  Wash 

Stockton,  Calif 

Brookline,  Mass 

BOISE,  IDAHO    .... 

Jackson,  Mich 

Ebnira,N.  Y 

Zanesville,  Ohio 

Colorado  Springs,  Colo.  ,    . 
Niagara  Falls,  N.  Y.   .    .    . 

Madison,  Wis 

Easton,  Pa 

Bellingham,  Wash 

Aurora,  111 

Tulsa,  Okla 

Stamford,  Conn 

Shreveport,  La 

Newport,  Ky 

Colimibia,  S.  C 

Portsmouth,  Va 

Orange,  N.  J 

Wilmington,  N.  C 

Joplin,  Mo 

Charleston,  W.  Va.     ... 

Knoxville,  Tenn 

Ogden,  Utah 

Austin,  Texas 


Per  Cent  of  Total  Population 


Under 
5  Years 


II. 6 
12.4 

8.8 
6.3 
6.3 
7.5 
8.1 

71 
8.8 

7-3 
10.7 
8.8 
8.6 
8.7 
8.7 
9-7 

11. 0 

9.1 

8.0 

9-7 

10. 1 
II. I 
10.9 
10.6 
10.8 

8.7 

II. 9 

8.7 


5  to  19 
Years 


30. 
30- 


18.8 

19. S 
20.2 
21.9 

22.8 

24.3 
24.4 

24.5 
24.5 
25.0 

251 
2S-7 
25.8 
26.4 
26.8 
27.1 
27.6 
27.7 
27.8 
27.8 
27.8 
27.9 
28.1 
28.3 
28.7 
293 


20  to  44 
Years 


390 
40.8 

59-4 
46.7 
49.0 

50.5 

4S.O 
43.7 
43.2 
44.9 
48.6 

45-5 
42.0 

47.7 
42.6 
49.1 
43-3 
45-1 
44-3 
46.6 

46.5 
42.6 
42.1 
43-8 
45-2 
45-8 

42. S 

40.7 


45  Years 
and  Over 


19.0 
16.6 

130 
27. S 
25-5 
20.1 
24.1 
24.9 
23.6 

23.3 
16.2 
20.7 

24.3 

17.9 

22.9 

14.8 

18.9 

18.7 

20.1 

16. o» 

15.6 

18.S 

19.2 

17.7 

259 

17.2 

16.9 

21.3 


8  The  Boise  Survey 

producing  power  of  the  city  so  far  as  men  count.  An  ex- 
amination of  column  2  of  this  table  shows  that,  judged  on 
'this  basis,  Boise  ranks  fourth  among  26  cities  of  its  class  in 
respect  to  the  smallness  of  its  school  population.  In  other 
words,  of  the  26  cities  22  have  larger  percentages  of  their 
respective  populations  to  provide  schooling  for  than  has 
Boise;  or,  we  may  say,  only  three  of  the  26  cities  are  in  this 
sense  carrying  a  lighter  load  than  Boise  carries. 

The  vigorous  young  wealth  producers,  the  men  and  women 
who  have  or  will  soon  take  over  the  political  and  economic 
responsibilities  for  their  respective  cities,  are  included  in 
the  age-group  20  to  44  years  and  appear  in  column  4  of  the 
table.  In  the  26  cities,  we  find  in  this  group  all  the  way 
from  40.7  per  cent  of  the  population  in  Austin,  Texas,  to 
59.4  per  cent  in  Everett,  Washington,  —  Everett  being  the 
only  city  of  the  26  with  a  higher  percentage  of  its  population 
within  the  limits  of  these  ages  than  is  found  in  Boise.  As 
to  infants  5  years  old  or  less,  Boise  ranks  low,  only  4  of  the 
26  cities  having  a  smaller  percentage  of  their  populations 
in  this  group. 

These  figures  have  a  certain  significance  in  defining  the 
education  problem  for  Boise.  As  compared  with  other  cities, 
Boise  ranks  high  in  young  and  middle-aged  adults  and  low 
in  infants  and  children  of  school  age.  In  other  words,  when 
measured  by  other  cities  of  her  class,  Boise  has  large  wealth- 
producing  power  in  comparison  with  the  number  of  both 
young  and  old  dependants.  Other  things  being  equal,  the 
city  of  Boise  should  be  able  to  provide  for  its  children,  not 
average,  but  decidedly  superior  educational  advantages.  If 
the  5  to  19  years  age-group  in  Boise  were  29.3  per  cent  of 
the  total  population,  as  is  true  for  Austin,  Texas,  it  is  ob- 
vious that  school  costs  for  the  city  would  be  very  close  to 
one  third  greater  than  they  are  at  present. 

ILLITERACY 

Another  question  of  importance  is,  What  percentage  of 
the  city's  population  is  illiterate?    Our  experience  with 


Boise's  Educational  Problem  g 

Bolshevism  and  with  ignorance  in  general  during  the  recent 
crisis  has  convinced  leading  educators  the  country  over  that 
henceforth  illiteracy  must  be  attacked  with  a  definite  and 
clear-cut  policy  until  it  is  finally  stamped  out. 

The  amount  or  per  cent  of  illiteracy  varies  greatly  in 
different  cities  and  states  throughout  the  country,  as  the 
figures  of  Table  5  will  show.  For  the  United  States  as  a 
whole,  counting  all  persons  ten  years  old  or  older,  7.7  per 
cent  are  illiterate.  For  the  three  Pacific  Coast  states  this 
figure  is  3.0  per  cent,  for  the  Mountain  states  it  is  6.9  per 
cent,  and  for  the  state  of  Idaho  it  is  but  2.2  per  cent.  Thus 
Idaho  seems  to  be  one  of  the  highly  favored  states  west  of 
the  Rockies.  When  we  examine  these  figures  more  closely, 
we  find  that  invariably  illiteracy  is  greater  in  rural  than  in 
urban  sections.  In  the  state  of  Idaho  2.3  per  cent  of  the 
rural  people  are  illiterate,  while  the  same  figure  for  the  urban 
population  is  but  1.7  per  cent. 


TABLE  5 

Percentage  of  Illiteracy  in  the  West 

(All  persons  10  years  old  or  older —  census  of  1910) 

Percentage  of  Population  which  is  Illiterate 


Section 

Total 

Urban 

Rural 

United  States 

Mountain  States 

Pacific  States 

Idaho    

Ada  Co.,  Idaho 

CITY  OF  BOISE 

7-7 
6.9 
3.0 
2.2 
2.9 
4-1 

51 
3-1 
2.0 

1.7 

10. 1 
9.1 
4.3 
2.3 

When  we  examine  the  Idaho  statistics  more  carefully, 
however,  we  discover  that  Boise  is  the  center  at  which  a 
large  part  of  the  state's  illiteracy  is  concentrated.     This 


lO 


The  Boise  Survey 


TABLE  6 

Percentage  of  Illiteracy  in  Cities  and  Towns  op  Idaho 

(All  persons  lo  years  old  or  older  —  census  of  1910) 


Per  Cent  of 

Per  Cent  of 

City 

Population 
which  is 

City 

Population 
which  is 

Illiterate 

Illiterate 

Twin  Falls  .   .   . 

03 

Idaho  Falls    .   . 

1.0 

Pocatello  .... 

0.4 

Wallace      .   .    . 

1-3 

Moscow   .... 

0.4 

Weiser    .... 

1-3 

Lewiston  .... 

0.4 

Nampa  .... 

1.4 

Coeur  d'Alene     . 

0.7 

CaldweU.    .    .    . 

1-7 

Sand  Point  .    .   . 

I.O 

BOISE  .... 

4.1 

shows  clearly  when  we  compare  the  figures  for  the  cities 
and  towns  of  the  state,  as  in  Table  6,  which  shows  clearly 
that  the  responsibility  for  freeing  the  state  from  the  dangers 
of  illiteracy  rests  mainly  with  the  city  of  Boise.  Just  how 
large  a  burden  this  is  as  compared  with  that  which  other 
cities  of  this  class  are  bearing  may  be  seen  from  the  diagram 
on  page  ii,  which  shows  Boise's  place  among  26  cities  of 
its  own  class.  In  this  group  Boise  holds  fifteenth  place 
from  the  top,  or  roughly  a  midway  position  among  cities  of 
from  30,000  to  40,000  population  in  the  United  States. 

This  makes  Boise's  problem  very  clear.  For  the  state, 
Boise  must  bear  a  large  part  of  the  responsibility  for  doing 
away  with  illiteracy.  As  compared  with  other  cities  that  re- 
sponsibility needs  to  involve  only  about  an  average  effort 
and  cost. 

If  at  first  thought  the  doing  away  with  illiteracy,  most  of 
which  is  among  adults,  seems  not  to  be  a  function  of  the 
school,  then  it  is  insisted  here  that  in  this  respect  the  func- 
tion of  the  American  public  school  must  be  definitely 


Boise's  Educational  Problem 


II 


Percent  itiiterate 
I  ColoradoSprin^s 
2BrooKlineMass.i.e 
3BelilnghQmWMi.H 
4TuIsQ  Okla.      1.2I 
sEverett  Wm. 
sOqden  Utah 
TModisonWis 
Bjoplln  Ma 
9Newporf  Ky. 
nJackson  Mich.  21 1 
iiZonssville  Q 
eElmiro  N.Y 
isEosfon  pa.     26| 
wStocktoiiCblrfJz' 
I5.BOISE       4. 
leAuroro  lii. 

lyKnoxviilelenn. 
ZoStomfordConn. 
2iOron<]e  NJ* 
22Au5fin1ex. 
23Port3moufhVa! 

zsShreveporf  Lo.  u 
zeColumbia  3.C.  n 
P«r  contillitewfe 


Fig.  2.    Per  Cent  of  Illiteracy  in  26  Cities  —  All  Persons  10  Years 
Old  or  Older  (Census  of  1910) 


broadened  to  meet  this  great  national  issue.  There  is  no 
reason  why  the  public  school  should  be  for  children  only. 
It  should  be  for  all,  old  as  well  as  young. 


12  The  Boise  Survey 


WEALTH  AND  OCCUPATIONS 

As  was  pointed  out  above,  Boise  is  a  rapidly  growing  city. 
Its  attractions  are  not  wholly  financial,  however,  and  in 
wealth  Boise  does  not  rank  close  to  the  top  among  cities  of 
its  class.  On  the  other  hand,  it  does  not  rank  especially 
low.  Considering  the  present  state  of  development,  together 
with  the  rate  of  growth  of  the  present  and  future  sources  of 
Boise's  wealth,  it  is  not  unreasonable  to  expect  the  city  to 
have  a  relatively  large  financial  future.  Being  the  political 
center  and  largest  city,  it  is  likely  to  continue  to  be  the 
business  center  of  the  state.  Its  wealth  increase  will  depend 
in  large  degree  upon  the  development  of  the  resources  of  the 
state,  and  this  promises  much,  for  as  yet  it  can  hardly  be 
said  that  the  state's  resources  have  been  touched.  The  great 
possibilities  are  agriculture,  timber,  and  minerals.  The  19 lo 
census  report  showed  the  following  occupational  distribu- 
tion of  the  inhabitants  of  the  state  who  were  ten  years  old 
or  older: 

Engaged  in  agriculture,  forestry,  and  animal  husbandry  .    .    .    .  43 . 3  per  cent 

"        "  extraction  of  minerals 5.2       " 

"        "  manufacturing  and  mechanical  industries 17.6       " 

"        "  transportation     9.1       " 

"  trade     8.2       " 

"        "  professional  service 5.2       " 

"        "  domestic  and  personal  service 7.1       " 

"        "  clerical  occupations 2.5       " 

"       "  public  service  not  included  above 0.9      " 

Total 99.1  percent 

A  similar  up-to-date  distribution  would  likely  vary  slightly 
from  this,  but  that  the  same  fields  would  dominate  there  is 
little  doubt.  During  the  last  three  census  periods  the 
amount  of  land  in  the  state  devoted  to  agriculture  has  in- 
creased at  the  rate  of  two  million  acres  per  decade,  and  the 
indication  of  recent  statistics  is  that  this  rate  has  continued.* 

It  is  in  respect  to  these  and  similar  facts  about  the  re- 

1  See  Third  and  Fourth  Annual  Reports  of  the  Department  of  Farm 
Markets,  State  of  Idaho,  1917-1918,  Boise,  Idaho. 


Boise's  Educational  Problem  13 

sources  of  the  state  and  their  use  and  development  that 
public  education  in  the  state  must  direct  no  small  portion  of 
its  energy. 

In  actual  wealth  Boise's  position  among  the  cities  of  her 
own  class  is  indicated  clearly  by  Table  7,  on  page  14. 

While  Boise's  position  is  somewhat  below  the  average,  it 
is  still  not  a  poor  city,  and  its  position  is  likely  to  become 
better  as  the  state  develops.  In  other  words,  Boise's  finan- 
cial position  does  not  argue  that  the  city  should  not  come  up 
to  the  average  in  expenditures  for  education. 


HOW  THE  CITY   SPENDS  ITS   MONEY 

I.     Boise^s  Income 

There  is  wide  diversity  among  cities  as  to  the  ways  in 
which  they  obtain  and  expend  their  revenues,  and  from  the 
standpoint  of  education  as  well  as  from  that  of  business  this 
is  a  question  of  importance.  Boise  has  an  assessed  valuation 
of  over  twenty  millions  of  dollars  and  in  191 7  levied  a  tax 
of  over  a  half  million.  This  money  was  derived  from  the 
following  sources: 

Taxes  on  property 59.8  per  cent 

Business  and  non-business  licenses 1.3  " 

Special  assessments  and  special  outlays 23 . 6  " 

Fines,  forfeits,  escheats,  etc 0.8  " 

Subventions,  grants,  gifts,  donations,  and  pension  assessments     .10.6  " 

Earnings  of  general  departments 2.0  " 

Highway  privileges,  rents,  and  interest 0.9  " 

Earnings  of  public  service  enterprises i.o  " 

To  raise  this  sum  the  city  levied  a  tax  of  $27.75  on  each 
$1000  of  assessed  wealth,  or  $18.04  on  each  $1000  of  real 
wealth.  This  means  that  it  cost  the  people  $19.16  per 
capita  to  run  their  government. 

Is  this  a  high  tax  rate  and  is  this  a  high  cost  of  govern- 
ment? The  answer  is  seen  in  Table  8,  which  shows  the 
facts  for  26  cities. 


14 


The  Boise  Survey 


TABLE  7 
Assessed  Wealth  and  Real  Wealth  Per  Capita  Population* 


City 


Assessed 
Wealth 


Basis  of 
Assessed 
Wealth 


Real 
Wealth 


3. 
4. 
5. 
6. 

7. 
8. 

9. 
10. 
II. 
12. 

13- 
14. 
15. 
16. 

17. 
18. 
19. 
20. 
21. 
22. 

23. 
24. 

25. 
26. 


Brookline,  Mass.  .  .  . 
Stockton,  Calif.     .   .    . 

Madison,  Wis 

Charleston,  W.  Va.  .  . 
Columbia,  S.  C.  .  .  . 
Shreveport,  La.     .   .   . 

Aurora,  111 

Stamford,  Conn,  .  .  . 
Niagara  Falls,  N.  Y.  . 
Colorado  Springs,  Colo. 
Wihnington,  N.  C.    .   . 

Easton,  Perm 

Jackson,  Mich 

Ogden,  Utah 

Tulsa,  Okla 

Zanesville,  Ohio  .  .  . 
Knoxville,  Tenn.  .  .  . 
Austin,  Texas  .... 
BOISE,  IDAHO     .   . 

Ehnira,N.  Y 

Joplin,  Mo 

Bellingham,  Wash.  .  . 
Everett,  Wash.     .   .    . 

Orange,  N.  J 

Portsmouth,  Va.  .  .  . 
Newport,  Ky 


^3923- 53 

767.66 

1809.14 

1190-33 
455.42 

637.31 

280.39 

1180.3s 

1012.35 

1095.53 
577. 01 
753.67 
1056.35 
1003 . 14 
771.62 
997.92 
645  06 
689.39 
558. 14 
734.60 
330.02 
324.39 
391.56 
698.29 

405.57 
522.04 


100% 
35-30 
94-78 

70 

25 

40 

23 
100 

90 
100 

50 

70 
100 
100 

75 
100 

70 

75 

65 

87 

40 

40 

50 
100 

55 
80 


S3923.58 
2242.77 
1986.39 
1819.58 
1786.08 
1593.28 
1219.10 
1180.3s 
1149.02 

1095.53 
1088.61 
1076.67 

1056.3s 
1003 . 14 
1002 . 49 
997.92 
925.88 
919.18 
858.14 
844.37 
840.21 
810.97 
783.12 
698.29 
684.96 
676.27 


From  this  table  it  will  be  seen  that  the  highest  rate,  based 
on  estimated  real  value  rather  than  on  assessed  value,  was 
paid  at  Everett,  Washington,  and  that  the  lowest  was  paid 
at  Columbia,  South  Carolina,  and  that  Boise  occupied  a 
median  position.    Considering  the  fact  that  Boise  occupies 

^  From  Financial  Statistics  of  Cities,  etc.,   191 7,  above  died. 


Boise's  Educational  Problem 


15 


TABLE  8 

Tax  Rate  and  Per  Capita  Cost  of  City  Government 

(United  States  Census  Statistics  of  191 7) 


City 


1.  Everett,  Wash.    .    .    • 

2.  Tulsa,  Okla 

3.  Ehnira,  N.  Y 

4.  Orange,  N.  J 

5.  Stamford,  Conn.     .    . 

6.  Niagara  Falls,  N.  Y.  . 

7.  Knoxville,  Tenn.     .   . 

8.  Austin,  Texas  .... 

9.  Colorado  Springs,  Colo. 

10.  Bellingham,  Wash.     . 

11.  Ogden,  Utah    .... 

12.  Jackson,  Mich.    .    .   . 

13.  Newport,  Ky 

14.  BOISE,  IDAHO  .   . 

15.  Zanesville,  Ohio  .   .   . 

16.  Aurora,  111 

17.  Wihnington,  N.  C.     . 

18.  Shreveport,  La.  .   .   . 

19.  Joplin,  Mo 

20.  Madison,  Wis.     .   .    . 

21.  Brookline,  Mass.     .    . 

22.  Stockton,  Calif.  .   .   . 

23.  Easton,  Pa 

24.  Charleston,  W.  Va.     . 

25.  Portsmouth,  Va.     .   . 

26.  Columbia,  S.  C.  .   .    . 
Average  26  Cities   .   . 


Rate  of  Levy  of  General 

Property  Taxes  per 

$1000  of 


Assessed 
Valuation 


$50.60 
32.20 
27.27 

23.73 
23.01 

24.99 
31.90 
28.80 
20.62 
51.29 
20.50 
19.90 
25.86 

27.75 

17.20 
69.83 
30.00 
38.7s 
38.30 
16.50 
14.80 
40.96 
19.27 
17.92 

18.59 
41.00 
29.65 


Estimated 
True  Value 


$25.30 
24.79 
23.73 
23.73 
23.01 
22.61 
22.23 
20.85 
20.62 
20.52 
20.50 
19.90 
19.19 
18.04 
17.20 
16.06 
15.91 
15.50 
15.18 
15.02 
14.80 
12.98 
12.13 
11.72 
11.04 
10.46 
18.19 


Per  Capita 
Cost  of  AU 
Govern- 
ment 


$52.18 

53-74 
29.90 
19.40 
31.12 
32.91 
29.06 
35.67 
20.10 
23.00 
21.20 
29.41 
13.00 
19.16 
18.61 
20.83 
17.63 
43.82 
25.88 

44.91 
55.36 

40.93 
13.64 

25.44 
12.26 

25.47 
29.02 


1 6  The  Boise  Survey 

2l  much  lower  position  among  these  cities  in  point  of  per 
capita  wealth  (see  Table  7),  we  should  expect  her  to  hold 
a  higher  than  median  rank  in  tax  rate  if  she  gave  her  chil- 
dren average  school  advantages.  We  must  not  fail  to  see, 
too,  that  the  western  cities,  with  which  Boise  is  especially 
comparable,  have  a  higher  rate  than  has  Boise.  All  together 
this  argues  plainly  that  Boise  could  have  a  somewhat  higher 
tax  rate  without  doing  more  than  other  cities  of  her  class 
are  doing. 

2.    Distribution  of  Expenditures 

A  further  question  of  importance  is.  How  are  the  city's 
revenues  used?  In  column  three  of  Table  8  above  it  will 
be  seen  that  Boise's  per  capita  cost  of  government  is  very 
much  lower  than  that  for  most  of  the  cities  included  in  this 
group.  In  fact,  but  5  of  the  26  cities  pay  less  per  capita 
for  government  than  does  Boise.  How,  then,  one  may  ask, 
does  Boise  spend  her  money? 

Figure  3  shows  a  full  statement  of  how  Boise  spends  each 
dollar  of  her  revenues.  From  this  it  will  be  seen  that  46.9 
cents  out  of  each  dollar  goes  to  maintain  schools,  7.8  cents 
to  govern  the  city,  16.9  cents  to  protection  of  person  and 
property,  etc. 

In  these  important  items  of  expenditure  it  is  important  to 
locate  Boise's  position  among  the  cities  of  her  class.  This 
is  brought  out  clearly  by  Table  9,  which  shows  for  26  cities 
the  per  cent  of  total  city  expenditures  devoted  to  the  three 
important  items  of  education,  general  government,  and 
police  protection. 

In  expenditure  for  education  Bellingham,  Washington, 
holds  the  highest  place,  devoting  63.7  per  cent  of  her  total 
expenditures  to  schools;  Columbia,  South  Carolina,  holds 
the  lowest  place,  with  20.3  per  cent;  and  Boise  the  fourth 
place  from  the  top,  with  46.9  per  cent.  In  expense  for 
government  the  range  is  from  14.6  per  cent  in  Tulsa,  Okla- 
homa, to  6.4  per  cent  in  Madison,  Wisconsin.    This  figure 


Boise's  Educational  Problem 


17 


PROTECTION  OF 
PiRiONe^P/fOPERTY/ 
/e.94 


HI6HW/JYS 
1794 


$ 

ONE 
\pOLLAR 


'GENERdL 
fecVERNMENT^ 

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EDUC/mON 
4d4i 


Fig.  3.    How  Boise  Spends  Its  Dollar 

for  Boise  is  7.8  per  cent.  As  was  shown  in  Table  8,  Boise 
spends  relatively  less  on  her  government  than  is  spent  by 
any  of  these  26  cities.  In  cost  of  police  protection  Boise 
holds  the  lowest  place,  devoting  only  4  per  cent  of  her  total 
expenditures  to  this  item,  while  other  cities  range  as  high  as 
16.4  per  cent. 

It  must  be  said,  then,  that  Boise  spends  her  income  wisely. 
Indeed,  the  city  occupies  an  enviable  position  in  the  matter 
of  spending  the  money  which  it  derives  from  taxes,  and  we 


i8 


The  Boise  Survey 


TABLE  9 


Percentage  of  City  Expenditures  Devoted  to  Education, 
General  Government,  and  Police  Protection 

(Financial  Statistics  of  Cities,  United  States  Census  Bureau,  191 7) 


City 


1.  Bellingham,  Wash.     . 

2.  Everett,  Wash.    .   .    . 

3.  Colorado  Springs,  Colo. 

4.  BOISE,  IDAHO  .    . 

5.  Charieston,  W.  Va.     . 

6.  Easton,  Pa 

7.  Orange,  N.  J 

8.  Ogden,  Utah    .... 

9.  Aurora,  111 

10.  Madison,  Wis.     .    .    . 

11.  Stockton,  Calif.  .    .    . 

12.  Ehnira,  N.  Y 

13.  Zanesville,  Ohio  .    .    . 

14.  Austin,  Tex 

15.  Joplin,  Mo 

16.  Newport,  Ky 

17.  Stainford,  Conn.     .    . 

18.  Jackson,  Mich.    .    .    . 

19.  Knoxville,  Tenn.     .    . 

20.  Tulsa,  Okla.     .   . 

21.  Portsmouth,  Va.     .    . 

22.  Niagara  Falls,  N.  Y.  . 

23.  Shreveport,  La.  .    .    . 

24.  Wilmington,  N.  C.      . 

25.  Brookline,  Mass.     . 

26.  Columbia,  S.  C.  .    .    . 


Per  Cent  to 
Education 


63.7 
56.2 
48.6 
46.9 

46.5 
46.2 

45-3 
44.8 
44.7 
42.8 

41.3 

39- 

39. 

37- 

36. 

34. 

34- 

33.6 

33-6 

32.8 

32.3 
28.4 
24.9 
23.6 

23.3 
20.3 


Per  Cent  to 

General 
Government 


8.1 
8.7 
9-3 
7.8 
13-4 
7.6 

7.9 
14.6 

7.4 

6.4 

9-3 

10.8 

10.7 

8.4 
12.0 
12.4 

8.3 

10. 1 

8.0 

14. 1 

13. 1 

9.1 

9.0 

9-4 

7.5 

8.1 


Per  Cent  to 

Police 
Protection 


6.1 
6.4 
6.7 
4.0 
9.2 
6.8 

lO.O 

8.1 
9.8 
5-4 
7.1 
^•S 
9.0 

7.4 

12. 5 
II. 8 

6.2 

6.8 
10.7 

9.6 
II. 2 

7.8 
10.9 

15. 6 
9.1 

16.4 


Boise's  Educational  Problem  19 

can  only  advise  the  people  of  Boise  to  maintain  that  reputa- 
tion, keeping  Bellingham^s  high  mark  in  percentage  spent 
on  schools  and  a  somewhat  higher  tax  rate,  as  suggested 
above,  as  desirable  marks  yet  to  attain. 

THE   PROBLEM   STATED 

Keeping  in  mind  the  more  modern  conception  of  the 
school,  and  of  the  place  and  function  of  education  in  society, 
viz. :  that  the  school  is  not  to  be  isolated  from  other  social 
interests;  that  the  teaching  of  reading,  writing,  and  arith- 
metic are  not  its  sole  functions;  that  education  has  as  much 
to  do  with  real  occupations,  real  civic  and  social  duties  and 
obligations,  real  people,  real  things,  and  real  conduct  of  men 
in  a  real  society  as  it  has  to  do  with  books  and  theories; 
and  finally  that  educational  opportunities  should  be  avail- 
able for  old  as  well  as  young,  let  us  set  forth  the  general 
suggestions  that  are  brought  out  by  the  above  social,  geo- 
graphical, and  economic  facts  about  Boise. 

1.  Boise  is  a  rapidly  growing  city,  (i)  She  must  there- 
fore erect  buildings,  purchase  equipment,  develop  library 
facilities,  and  organize  her  teaching  and  supervision  forces 
with  this  rapid  expansion  in  mind.  (2)  She  should  adopt 
a  pay-as-you-go  policy  and  keep  bonded  indebtedness  at  a 
relatively  low  mark. 

2.  The  population  of  the  city  is  mainly  and  increasingly 
of  native  stock.  ( i )  This  means  that  the  schools  are  largely 
free  from  the  educational  burden  and  from  the  attending 
cost  of  caring  for  a  large  foreign  element.  (2)  This  should 
make  possible  relatively  higher  standards  of  cost  in  other 
lines  than  obtain  in  cities  with  large  numbers  of  foreign 
children.  (3)  It  should  also  make  possible  relatively  high 
standards  of  achievement  among  the  pupils. 

3.  The  city  ranks  high  in  young  and  middle-aged  adults 
and  low  in  infant  and  aged  dependants,  also  low  in  children 
of  school  age.  ( i )  This  means  that  the  city  has  a  relatively 
lighter  burden  to  bear  in  providing  schools,  and  a  relatively 
high  earning  power  to  care  for  the  cost,  (2)  which  argues 


20  The  Boise  Survey 

that  Boise  could  spend  considerably  more  per  pupil  (or 
schools  than  is  spent  by  the  average  city  of  her  class  and 
still  be  making  no  more  than  average  sacrifice  to  edu- 
cation. 

4.  In  point  of  wealth  Boise  is  slightly  less  than  an  average 
city  of  her  class  but  with  fair  prospect  of  bettering  her 
position.  In  view  of  other  facts,  —  the  racial  homogeneity 
of  her  people,  the  relatively  small  school  population,  and 
the  relatively  large  percentage  of  young  adults,  —  this  po- 
sition with  respect  to  per  capita  wealth  does  not  argue 
for  low  expenditure  per  pupil  for  schools.  Instead,  it 
should  argue  for  a  slightly  higher  than  average  tax  rate  for 
schools. 

5.  In  the  matter  of  illiteracy  Boise,  though  in  a  highly 
favored  section  of  the  country,  occupies  only  a  median  po- 
sition among  cities  of  her  class,  and  is  unquestionably  the 
center  of  illiteracy  for  the  state.  This  calls  loudly  for  night 
schools  and  continuation  education  as  a  feature  of  the  city's 
school  system. 

6.  In  occupations  the  city  is  essentially  a  residence  com- 
munity, but  it  is  located  in  the  midst  of  a  rich  undeveloped 
agricultural  district  and  is  the  political  and  business  center 
of  the  state.  This  calls  especially  for  strong  agricultural 
and  commercial  departments  as  well  as  for  good  average 
mechanical  departments  in  the  high  school. 

7.  The  city  taxes  its  wealth  at  a  relatively  low  rate 
for  cities  of  that  class.  Considering  its  low  per  capita 
wealth,  one  would  expect  a  relatively  high  tax  rate  if  the 
city  means  to  have  as  good  schools  as  are  maintained  by 
other  cities. 

8.  The  city  spends  a  relatively  high  proportion  of  its 
income  on  education.  This  shows  good  management  and 
indicates  that  the  people  of  the  city  want  and  will  support 
a  strong  constructive  educational  policy. 

In  a  word,  then,  the  city  is  able  to  have  the  best, 
and  is  morally  responsible  to  a  wide  territory  to  furnish 
a  demonstration  of  the  best  that  can  be  worked  out  in 


Boise's  Educational  Problem  21 

educational  practice  in  that  part  of  the  United  States. 
What  the  city  has  to  show,  the  extent  to  which  it  is  exer- 
cising such  leadership,  and  the  way  it  is  meeting  its  edu- 
cational problems,  we  shall  try  to  answer  in  the  following 
chapters. 


CHAPTER  II 

ORGANIZATION   AND   ADMINISTRATION 

(Sears) 

THE  LEGAL   STATUS  OF   THE  DISTRICT 

IN  attempting  to  answer  the  question,  how  has  Boise  met 
and  solved  her  educational  problem,  it  must  be  kept  in 
mind  that  that  problem  has  not  always  been  the  same. 
Boise's  educational  needs  have  changed  greatly  since  1866, 
when  the  city  first  received  a  charter,  or  since  1890,  when 
Idaho  became  a  state.  Its  population  has  doubled  several 
times;  illiteracy  and  the  percentage  of  foreigners  have 
greatly  decreased;  new  industries  have  grown  up;  wealth  has 
accumulated ;  and  the  city  has  come  to  occupy  a  place  of  in- 
fluence; all  of  which  means  that  Boise's  educational  aims, 
and  therefore  her  plans  for  education,  have  had  to  change. 
In  1883  the  city  Board  of  Education  reported  but  one  school 
building  and  351  pupils.  At  present  there  are  eleven  build- 
ings ^  and  more  than  4000  pupils,  the  city  being  laid  out  in 
attendance  districts,  as  shown  in  Figure  4. 

Article  IX  of  the  constitution  of  the  state  of  Idaho  de- 
clares it  to  be  the  duty  of  the  legislature  of  Idaho  "to  es- 
tablish and  maintain  a  general,  uniform,  and  thorough 
system  of  public,  free  common  schools,"  and  vests  the  power 
of  supervision  of  the  schools  in  a  state  board  of  education. 
Long  before  this  constitution  was  adopted  (1889),  however, 
the  territorial  legislature  had  enacted  many  laws  affecting 
education,  among  which  was  an  act  (1881)  creating  the 
Boise  Independent  School  District.  The  powers  of  this 
district  have  since  been  enlarged,  till  now,  in  addition  to 

^  One  of  which  is  in  process  of  erection. 


Organization  and  Administration 


23 


Fig.  4 


the  usual  corporate  powers,  the  trustees  of  this  district  may 
devise  their  own  course  of  study,  select  their  own  textbooks, 
determine  the  qualifications  of  their  teachers,^  provide 
teachers^  retirement  funds,  old  age  insurance,  and  permanent 
disability  funds,  and  fix  the  length  of  their  school  day. 

1  The  teachers  of  Boise  are  not  required  to  hold  a  state  or  county  cer- 
tificate. 


24  The  Boise  Survey 

It  should  be  pointed  out  here  that  these  powers  have  been 
granted  by  the  state  of  Idaho,  for  the  benefit  of  such  of  the 
staters  schools  as  happened  to  be  within  this  district,  and 
that  these  powers  were  granted  to  a  school  district  and  not 
to  a  city.  As  shown  in  Figure  5  the  district  boundaries  are 
at  almost  no  point  coextensive  with  those  of  the  munici- 
pality. The  Board  of  Education  is  thus  carrying  out  a  state 
function,  and  is  responsible  to  the  state  for  the  proper  ex- 
ercise of  its  powers.  Not  for  the  welfare  of  the  people  of 
Boise  alone,  therefore,  but  for  that  of  the  entire  state,  the 
school  policy  of  the  district  must  be  conceived  and  carried 
out  by  the  board.^ 


SIGNIFICANCE   OF   SUCH  WIDE  LEGAL  POWERS 

It  is  doubtful  whether  the  powers  of  any  public  school 
board  in  the  state  surpass  the  powers  of  this  board.  The 
responsibilities  of  a  board  must  be  proportionate  to  the 
powers  it  has  been  granted.  Accordingly  the  people  of 
Boise  must  expect  their  board  to  conduct  llie  schools  of  the 
city  in  terms  of  a  broad  policy  which  has  been  constructed 
in  the  light  of  the  conditions  and  needs  of  the  large  territory 
of  which  Boise  is  a  natural  center.  Apparently  tiie  city  has 
no  immediate  need  for  farmers  or  stock  breeders.  Yet  the 
development  of  the  state,  and  of  the  whole  Northwest,  in 
fact,  await  the  coming  of  men  trained  in  these  fields.  It  is 
therefore  Boise^s  duty  to  the  state  to  establish  courses  in 
agriculture.  This  merely  illustrates  the  way  in  which  the 
Board  of  Education  must  approach  its  problems. 

While  there  is  little  danger  of  our  pointing  too  emphati- 
cally to  the  responsibilities  which  the  district  has  assumed 
in  accepting  from  the  state  the  powers  of  an  Independent 
School  District,  we  must  not  fail  to  point  with  equal  em- 
phasis to  the  excellent  opportunities  which  such  wide  powers 
provide.    The  district  is  free  from  the  possible  evils  of  too 

^  See  especially  reference  to  the  problem  of  illiteracy  in  the  state,  on 
page  9. 


Organization  and  Administration 

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Fig.  s.    Map  Showing  Boise's  District  and  Municipal  Boundaries 
(Dotted  Line  Shows  City  Boundames) 


26  The  Boise  Survey 

much  state  uniformity,  as  uniformity  of  textbooks;  and  from 
state  interference  in  matters  of  a  strictly  local  character,  as 
in  the  development  of  continuation  courses;  and  accordingly 
it  should  find  it  possible  to  build  up  a  plan  of  education  very 
thoroughly  adapted  to  the  ends  they  wish  to  attain.  That 
is,  by  her  natural  position,  Boise  is  not  only  responsible  for 
providing  broad  educational  leadership  for  the  state  and 
adjacent  territory,  but  the  state  has  provided  the  district 
with  almost  unlimited  power,  together  with  a  proper  portion 
of  state  funds,  with  which  to  develop  that  leadership.  Within 
her  proper  financial  limitations,  then,  Boise  should  become 
the  educational  experiment  station  and  demonstration  center 
for  the  state. 


THE  ADMINISTRATIVE   ORGANIZATION 

As  pointed  out  above,  the  machinery  for  directing  the 
schools  of  the  Boise  Independent  District  was  devised  and 
established  by  the  state  of  Idaho.  The  first  in  authority, 
therefore,  is  the  state;  that  is,  the  people  of  Idaho,  who  act 
through  their  constitution  and  their  legislature.  The  con- 
stitution calls  for  a  system  of  schools  to  be  supervised  by  a 
state  board  of  education,  and  the  legislature  has  consti- 
tuted that  board  of  six  members,  five  appointive  and  one 
ex  officio.  The  five  members  are  to  be  appointed  by  the 
Governor,  and  the  State  Superintendent  of  schools  is  to  serve 
ex  officio.  This  board,  through  the  State  Superintendent, 
supervises  the  schools  of  the  state  somewhat  minutely,  ex- 
cept in  the  case  of  independent  districts,  where  the  board's 
supervision  is  slight  and  somewhat  indirect,  being  limited 
mainly  to  its  power  to  apportion  the  state  school  fund  and 
taxes  among  the  counties,  to  require  reports  of  attendence, 
etc.  Similarly  the  county  superintendent  serves  the  schools 
of  Boise  in  a  limited  way,  caring  for  apportionment  of  funds, 
payment  of  tuition  by  pupils,  adjustment  of  district  boun- 
daries, etc.,  all  in  accordance  with  established  laws. 

As  provided  by  special  charter,  the  schools  of  this  district 


Organization  and  Administration 


27 


are  managed  by  a  board  of  six  trustees  elected  at  large  by 
the  people,  each  for  a  term  of  six  years.  In  accordance  widi 
its  rules  and  regulations  the  president  of  the  board  appoints 
the  following  standing  committees: 

1.  Committee  on  Auditing  and  Finance; 

2.  Committee  on  Buildings  and  Grounds; 

3.  Committee  on  Purchasing  and  Insurance; 

4.  Committee  on  Teachers  and  Salaries; 

5.  Committee  on  Textbooks,  Instruction,  and  Discipline. 

Under  the  direction  of  the  board  and  its  committees,  the 
following  general  plan  of  organization  for  the  schools  has 
been  developed  and  is  now  in  operation.  At  the  head,  and 
serving  as  the  board^s  chief  executive  officer,  is  the  superin- 
tendent of  schools,  under  whom  are  the  general  and  special 
supervisors,  principals,  and  teachers.  These  main  features 
of  the  organization,  together  with  other  details,  are  shown 


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I    Nufse 


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Fig.  6.    Present  Administrative  Organization  of  the  Schools  of  the 
Boise  Independent  School  District 


28  The  Boise  Survey 

clearly  in  Figure  6,  which  also  indicates  the  various  lines  of 
authority  approximately  as  they  operate  in  the  system. 

IMPERFECTIONS   IN  ORGANIZATION 

I.    Boise's  Plan  not  Unlike  That  of  Other  Cities 

The  plan  of  organization  here  described  is  not  unlike  that 
in  effect  in  many  cities  of  this  size.  Small  boards  are  de- 
cidedly the  rule,  though  boards  of  five  or  seven  members 
are  more  common  than  are  boards  of  six  members.  In  most 
cases  such  boards  are  elected  by  the  people  at  large  for 
three-year  terms,  and  carry  on  much  of  their  work  through 
standing  committees  of  three  members.  In  these  respects, 
therefore,  Boise  is  following  what  appears  to  be  the  ac- 
cepted —  but,  we  must  add,  the  traditional  —  practice  over 
the  country. 

2,    Objections  to  Standing  Committees 

There  is  no  particular  objection  to  the  size  of  Boise^s 
board,  nor  to  its  tenure  and  methods  of  election.  There  is, 
however,  objection  to  the  standing  committee  method  of 
carrying  on  its  work.  For  nearly  a  decade  no  single  prob- 
lem has  received  more  serious  consideration  by  our  leading 
thinkers  and  writers  on  educational  administration  than 
has  the  question  of  how  school  boards  shall  conduct  their 
business.  The  outcome  of  this  study  is  a  general  agreement 
to  the  effect  that  standing  committees  are  in  no  way  helpful, 
and  that  they  are  not  infrequently  a  means  of  mismanage- 
ment and  interference  with  the  technical  and  professional 
functions  of  expert  officers.^  As  the  plan  works  in  Boise, 
little  concrete  evidence  was  available  to  show  any  evil  effect 
upon  the  schools  direct.  The  committees  are  definitely 
subordinate  to  the  board,  having  no  general  power  to  act 

1  See  Cubberley,  Ell  wood  P.,  Public  School  Administration,  Chapter  DC, 
Houghton  Mifflin  Company;  Hanus,  Paul  H.,  School  Efficiency:  A  Con- 
structive Study  Applied  to  New  York  City,  Chapter  VIII,  World  Book 
Company. 


Organization  and  Administration  29 

on  any  question.  Yet  all  of  the  work  done  by  committees 
might,  in  the  judgment  of  the  writer,  be  better  done  in  other 
ways.  For  a  committee  of  three  busy  men  to  toil  through 
the  process  of  auditing  the  long  list  of  large  and  small  ex- 
penditures which  accumulate  each  month  seems  extremely 
wasteful  of  time.  Again,  the  selection,  tenure,  and  salaries 
of  teachers,  the  selection  of  textbooks,  questions  of  instruc- 
tion and  discipline,  all  are  problems  whose  proper  solution 
not  only  requires  time  but  also  a  high  degree  of  professional 
skill,  such  as  lay  board  members  usually  do  not  possess. 

Special  committees  may  and  frequently  should  be  used 
by  the  board  for  examining  situations,  gathering  facts,  as- 
sisting in  large  business  transactions,  etc.,  but  never  should 
questions  of  any  importance  be  either  actually  or  even  prac- 
tically decided  by  any  less  than  the  full  membership  of  the 
board  whom  the  people  have  chosen  to  manage  the  schools. 

Without  mentioning  all  the  evils  that  have  been  found 
associated  with  committee  methods,  it  is  enough  here  to  say 
that  all  are  a  possibility  in  Boise  as  soon  as  even  moderately 
weak  executive  officers  are  placed  in  charge  of  the  schools. 
A  partial  illustration  is  already  at  hand.  All  Boise's  ele- 
mentary school  principals  teach  practically  full  time,  and 
so,  however  strong  executives  they  may  be,  they  are  forced 
to  neglect  many  of  the  duties  that  ordinarily  fall  to  that 
office.  The  result  is  that  janitors  have  come  to  take  orders 
from  the  building  inspector  only,  who  works  mainly  under  . 
the  direction  of  the  committee  on  buildings  and  grounds.  ^ 
This  is  educationally  impracticable  if  not  intolerable.  One 
principal,  when  asked  why  the  water  was  shut  off  from  the 
fire  hose,  replied,  "I  have  called  the  janitor's  attention  to 
that  situation,  but  he  told  me  that  the  building  inspector 
had  ordered  him  to  keep  the  water  closed  off."  If  such  an 
order  actually  was  given  it  was  ridiculous,  and  even  dan- 
gerous in  case  of  fire.  That  the  janitor  politely  or  otherwise 
ignored  the  authority  of  the  principal  is  a  situation  that 
should  be  immediately  remedied. 

Boise's  committees  should  be  done  away  with,  however, 


30  The  Boise  Survey 

not  only  to  prevent  waste  and  friction  but  because  there 
are  better  and  safer  methods  of  handling  the  business.  The 
need  for  a  standing  committee  on  auditing  and  finance  would 
disappear  if  at  the  beginning  of  the  fiscal  year  the  board 
would  adopt  a  budget  and  place  in  proper  hands  the  ex- 
penditure of  all  funds.^  At  the  end  of  the  year  a  special 
audit  of  all  accounts  by  a  certified  accountant  would  solve 
the  question. 

The  employment  of  teachers  should  be  left  solely  to  the 
superintendent,  who  would  also  determine  salaries  and  pro- 
motions in  accordance  with  a  policy  definitely  stated  and 
adopted  by  the  board.  No  board  member  or  committee 
should  presume  to  handle  questions  of  textbooks,  discipline, 
and  instruction,  and  it  should  surely  be  the  board  and  not 
a  part  of  it  that  selects  sites,  adopts  budgets,  employs  archi- 
tects, and  erects  buildings,  aild  the  superintendent  and  prin- 
cipal who  should  handle  the  lesser  problems  now  handled  by 
the  committee  on  buildings  and  grounds. 

This  seems  to  give  the  superintendent  wide  powers  and 
much  to  do.  That  is  as  it  should  be.  At  the  present  time 
Boise's  superintendent  has  to  devote  entirely  too  much  of 
his  time  to  the  supervision  of  instruction  and  has  left  too 
little  for  the  larger  and  more  important  functions  of  the 
chief  administrative  officer  of  a  city  school  system.  Boise 
is  not  a  great  city,  but  neither  is  it  a  country  village.  Ac- 
cordingly it  should  begin  to  adopt  big  business  and  big 
educational  methods  of  operation. 

Further,  it  may  be  asked,  what  is  there  left  for  a  board 
of  education  to  do  if  the  superintendent  is  to  function  so 
broadly?  The  answer  is:  (i)  legislate  for  the  schools; 
(2)  adopt  a  policy  and  frequently  examine  the  evidence 
that  that  policy  is  being  carried  out;  (3)  and  administer 
certain  laws  as  required  by  the  state.  To  illustrate,  the 
board  must  fix  the  special  tax  levy;  determine  tuition  rates; 
pass  on  all  proposed  extensions  of  the  school  system;  select 

1  See  Chapter  XII  for  discussion  and  recommendations  touching  this 
question. 


Organization  and  Administration  31 

a  superintendent  when  necessary;  sanction  or  veto  other 
appointments;  select  school  sites;  create  a  teachers'  retire- 
ment fund;  take  care  of  bond  issues,  sales,  and  redemptions; 
appoint  school  architects  and  auditors  of  accounts;  de- 
termine length  of  school  term  and  dates  of  opening;  estab- 
lish salary  schedule  and  promotion  rules;  care  for  school 
elections;  pass  on  purchases  of  fuel,  supplies,  and  furniture, 
and  keep  itself  fully  informed  as  to  the  extent  and  conditions 
of  the  schools.  Innumerable  other  typical  items  could  be 
added.  These  are  suggested  as  fully  representative  of  the 
kinds  of  business  that  should  be  transacted  by  a  board  of 
education.  It  is  believed  that  if  the  board  will  serve  well 
in  the  capacities  suggested  by  the  above  items  of  business, 
it  will  render  the  best  possible  account  of  its  stewardship. 

J.    A  Weak  Plan  of  Supervision 

A  second  and  fundamental  weakness  of  the  plan  of  organi- 
zation outlined  above  has  just  been  suggested;  viz.,  the  plan 
for  carrying  on  supervision  of  instruction.  In  Figure  6  this 
weakness  is  not  fully  apparent.  Supervision  is  carried  on 
by  three  sets  of  officers:  general  supervisors,  special  super- 
visors, and  in  very  limited  measure  by  principals.  There 
are  two  general  supervisors,  one  for  the  grammar  grades  and 
one  for  the  primary  grades,  the  former  being  handled  by  the 
superintendent.  When  we  consider  that  principals  teach 
nearly  all  their  time,  and  that  special  supervisors  cover  only 
a  limited  portion  of  the  curriculum,  we  are  forced  to  realize 
that  anything  like  adequate  service  for  the  grammar  grades 
will  call  for  a  very  large  portion  of  the  superintendent's  time. 

4.    Duties  of  a  City  Superintendent 

It  seems  worth  while  to  set  forth  here  some  of  thei  more 
important  functions  of  a  city  superintendent  of  schools,  as 
indicated  by  the  best  practice  over  the  country  at  the  present 
time.    Without  attempting  to  list  these  functions  in  any 


32  The  Boise  Survey 

special  order,  we  would  say  that  the  following  are  of  first 
importance: 

1.  Entire  control  of  all  teachers,  principals,  supervisors, 
and  other  special  officers  (as  truant  officer,  clerical  help, 
building  inspector,  librarian,  etc.)  having  to  do  with  matters 
of  instruction.  This  should  mean  power  of  appointment, 
transfer,  promotion  in  rank  or  salary,  and  dismissal.  He 
should  have  almost  equally  wide  control  over  the  purchasing 
agent  and  business  manager. 

2.  The  selection  of  textbooks  and  supplies.  Decisions  in 
all  such  matters  will  not  be  reached  without  the  help  of 
teachers  and  supervisors  having  special  knowledge  of  the 
needs  of  the  schools. 

3.  The  development  and  revision  of  courses  of  study. 
Here  again  for  several  reasons  the  intimate  knowledge  of 
teachers  and  supervisors  will  be  utilized. 

4.  Preparation  of  the  annual  budget  estimates  to  be 
passed  upon  by  the  board. 

5.  Keep  the  public  and  the  board  fully  informed.  Brief 
but  carefully  prepared  reports  of  the  conditions  and  needs  of 
the  schools  should  be  laid  before  the  board  at  each  meeting, 
to  the  end  that  the  board  may  legislate  promptly  and  in- 
telligently and  keep  to  a  unified  school  policy.  Certainly  a 
city  as  large  as  Boise  should  publish  an  annual  report  of  its 
schools. 

6.  Furnish  professional  leadership  and  stimulate  industry 
and  enthusiasm  among  all  teachers  and  officers,  keeping  the 
essential  aims  of  education  before  his  staff  of  assistants. 

No  superintendent  of  schools  in  Boise  can  live  up  to  the 
large  possibilities  suggested  by  these  general  headings  and 
devote  the  time  now  being  devoted  to  detailed  supervision 
of  instruction.  Furthermore,  it  is  too  expensive  a  program 
for  the  city  to  use  its  highest-paid  official  largely  as  a  super- 
visor of  instruction,  however  excellent  his  work  in  that 
capacity  may  be. 

The  weakness  of  the  present  system  is  further  evidenced 
by  the  attitude  which  principals  show  toward  the  methods 


Organization  and  Administration  33 

now  used.  There  seems  to  be  a  general  feeling  that  there  is 
a  lack  of  coordination  in  the  work  of  the  schools  and  that 
much  of  the  work  now  being  done  by  the  general  super- 
visors does  not  get  results,  for  the  reason  that  it  is  not 
properly  followed  up  by  the  principal  or  some  one  on  the 
ground. 

An  adequate  plan  of  supervision  for  the  schools  of  Boise 
would  exchange  the  present  system  for  the  following:  the 
superintendent  would  be  a  general  supervisor  of  all  work, 
operating  largely,  though  not  exclusively,  through  others; 
there  should  be  a  supervisor  of  primary  work  with  the  en- 
tire city  for  a  field,  much  as  at  present;  there  should  be  one 
principal  for  the  three  schools  of  Central,  Lincoln,  and 
Hawthorn  districts,  who  would  devote  full  time  to  adminis- 
trative and  supervisory  duties;  in  similar  fashion  one  prin- 
cipal could  handle  Longfellow  and  Whittier  schools;  all 
other  schools  should  have  principals  devoting  from  half  time 
in  the  smallest  to  full  time  in  ihe  largest  schools  to  super- 
vision; finally  there  should  be  supervisors  of  the  special 
subjects  of  art,  physical  training,  play,  music,  manual  train- 
ing, and  domestic  science. 

This  would  make  the  principalships  of  the  Boise  schools 
attractive  positions.  At  present  the  principal,  except  in  the 
high  school,  is  merely  the  head  teacher,  and  is  not  thought 
of,  nor  is  he  treated  by  his  fellow  teachers,  as  a  principal. 
Live  young  men  will  not  remain  long  in  such  positions,  as 
Boise's  history  clearly  proves.  The  present  policy  will  in 
course  of  time  place  old,  worn-out  teachers  at  the  head  of 
the  schools,  whereas  such  positions  should  be  in  the  hands 
of  the  aggressive,  professionally  alert  t5^e  which  is  aspiring 
to  larger  usefulness  in  the  profession. 

5.    Improper  Control  of  Building  Inspection 

A  third  weakness  of  the  plan  of  organization,  perhaps  a 
minor  one,  is  the  present  status  of  the  building  inspector  and 
of  janitors.     The  building  inspector  should  be  appointed 


34  'I'he  Boise  Survey 

and  supervised  by  the  superintendent,^  and  the  janitors, 
though  they  may  work  largely  under  the  supervision  of  the 
building  inspector,  should  certainly  be  expected  to  respond 
promptly  to  any  request  from  the  school  principal.  An  effi- 
cient janitor  is  one  who  is  capable  of  carrying  out  orders 
pertaining  to  the  sanitary  condition  of  the  building  and  of 
attending  to  the  innumerable  little  tasks  of  mending,  dis- 
tributing supplies,  shifting  furniture,  etc.  A  janitor  who 
does  such  work  well  will  not  find  time  to  dictate  the  policy 
of  the  school. 

6,    Attendance  Machinery  Weak 

A  fourth  weakness  of  the  organization  is  found  in  the 
machinery  for  handling  attendance  problems.  At  present 
no  attendance  officer  is  provided.  In  case  of  truancy  the 
child  is  reported  to  the  probation  officer  of  the  juvenile 
court  of  the  county  and  is,  in  a  sense,  haled  before  that 
court  even  though  the  offense  is  very  slight.  In  other  words, 
the  boy  is  treated  as  if  he  were  a  confirmed  delinquent. 

It  is  one  of  the  most  important  functions  of  the  school 
to  find  among  its  children  any  evidences  that  point  toward 
delinquency  and  to  eliminate  those  forces  before  they  have 
time  or  opportunity  to  develop.  The  school  is  a  socializing 
agency  and  should  provide  machinery  for  handling  unsocial 
conduct.  The  school  should  always  have  the  juvenile  court 
to  fall  back  upon  in  difficult  cases,  but  court  machinery  is 
not  satisfactory  as  school  machinery. 

A  far  better  plan  for  Boise  would  be  to  add  to  the  staff  an 
assistant  nurse  with  the  title  of  "visiting  teacher,"  "home 
visitor,"  or  "supervisor  of  attendance."  We  all  recognize 
that  the  schools  are  very  often  so  conducted  as  actually  to 
stimulate  delinquency.  It  would  be  the  function  of  this 
office  to  study  the  school  and  the  home  conditions  to  the 
end  that  such  forces  might  be  eliminated.    The  less  of  the 

1  Boise  has  a  "City  Building  Inspector"  who  is  responsible  for  inspecting 
school  buildings  as  well  as  all  other  types.  The  part-time  building  in- 
spector employed  by  the  schools  supplements  the  city  inspector's  work. 


Organization  and  Administration  35 

police  and  court  idea  and  the  more  of  the  leading,  teaching, 
nursing  idea  we  can  get  into  our  schools,  the  more  positive 
and  constructive  will  their  program  of  training  be. 

7.    Health  Supervision  Inadequate 

A  fifth  weakness,  scarcely  even  now  to  be  rated  as  a  minor 
one,  is  the  inadequate  supervision  of  the  health  of  the  chil- 
dren. As  will  be  shown  later  in  this  report,  Boise  has  its 
health  problems,  and  though  the  present  nurse  work  is  ex- 
cellent in  quality,  it  is  far  from  adequate  in  extent. 

A  good  solution  of  this  problem  for  the  present  would  be 
to  make  the  present  nurse  supervisor  of  health  and  attend- 
ance, give  her  a  full-time  assistant  nurse  whose  work  it 
would  be  to  visit  homes  where  health  advice  is  needed  or 
where  special  cooperation  between  school  and  home  is  nec- 
essary, and  who  in  carrying  on  such  work  would  serve 
as  attendance  officer.  With  some  clerical  assistance  this 
would  give  the  schools  much  better  health  supervision 
and  bring  the  management  of  attendance  problems  di- 
rectly under  the  superintendent's  control,  where  properly  it 
belongs. 

These  five  criticisms  of  the  plan  for  administering  the 
schools  of  Boise  are  presented,  not  so  much  because  of  ap- 
parent friction  among  the  officers  and  teachers,  as  because 
of  the  general  waste  of  energy  due  to  misplacement  of 
authority,  with  its  consequent  inefficiency.  No  evidence  was 
found  to  show  that  the  board  or  its  committees  have  de- 
liberately or  carelessly  infringed  upon  the  rights  of  the 
superintendent.  It  is  believed,  however,  that  much  of  the 
work  now  done  by  committees  would  better  be  done  by  the 
superintendent,  and  the  remainder  by  the  board  as  a  whole. 

At  this  point  it  should  be  noted  that  the  minutes  of  the 
board  are  so  very  brief  that  they  reveal  little  of  the  history 
of  the  board's  operations.  No  discussion  is  ever  reported, 
however  important  it  may  have  been.  There  is  little  to  show 
the  kind  or  extent  of  information  placed  before  the  board 


36  The  Boise  Survey 

by  the  superintendent,'  and  little  to  show  the  process  by 
which  the  schools'  policy  is  kept  up  to  date.  This  is  not  as 
it  should  be.  Such  minutes  need  not  be  a  stenographic  re- 
port of  all  that  is  said  at  the  meeting,  but  they  should  fur- 
nish a  brief,  clear  report,  not  only  of  all  questions  handled, 
but  of  important  discussions  as  well. 

A  RIGHT  PLAN  OF  ORGANIZATION 

The  above  criticisms  and  proposals  have  been  made  in 
the  light  of  the  best  practice  in  city  schools  throughout  the 
country,  and  they  are  supported  quite  as  fully  by  the 
fundamental  principles  of  administrative  organization  ^ 
wherever  these  apply,  in  business,  commerce,  or  education. 
Big  business  has  made  its  way  by  means  of  a  highly  cen- 
tralized management,  and,  while  the  management  of  a 
school  system  may  not  be  a  case  parallel  in  every  detail  with 
an  industrial  institution,  wherever  the  essential  principle  of 
centralized  control  has  been  carefully  worked  out  in  edu- 
cation it  has  brought  results. 

With  these  facts  and  principles  in  mind  the  plan  of 
organization  shown  in  Figure  7  is  suggested  for  the  schools 
of  Boise. 

The  board  of  trustees  is  elected  by  the  people  to  carry 
out  the  laws  and  orders  of  the  legislature  and  the  state  board 
of  education.  No  board  committees  are  provided  for.  The 
superintendent  of  schools  is  the  chief  executive  officer  of 
the  board.  It  is  his  duty  to  develop  an  educational  policy, 
which,  when  adopted  by  the  board,  he  will  carry  out.  In 
doing  this  he  will  be  given  wide  freedom  within  the  limits 

^  As  an  illustration  a  very  full  typewritten  report  touching  a  number  of 
important  problems  was  rendered  to  the  board  on  February  8,  iqiq.  The 
secretary's  books  show  little  evidence  that  such  information  and  recom- 
mendations had  been  laid  before  the  board. 

^  An  abundance  of  facts  describing  present  practice  are  so  easily  available 
that  it  seems  unnecessary  to  include  tables  to  substantiate  the  statements 
made.  See  a  recent  report  by  the  United  States  Commissioner  of  Education: 
Current  Practice  in  City  School  Administration,  United  States  Bureau  of 
Education  Bulletin,  1917,  No.  8;  Cubberley,  E.  P.,  Public  School  Adminis- 
iration,  Houghton  Mifflin  Company,  1916. 


Organization  and  Administration 


37 


I  Stats  Legis/oture      \  \  Tax  Payers  of  Boise    ™  YtafeBd.offducafti'on  \ 


}PltrA  fPorefios 


Primory^ 


\Supf.arB/d9s 


ofHeaH-h 


dupervisors  _ 


A^^/ca/ iScpery/'sor  |- 


I  %Jani-fors     \ 


TeochcrX 


\CHJLDC?aA 


Fig.  7.    Desirable  Plan  of  Reorganization 


of  a  carefully  made  budget.  In  terms  of  this  policy  he  will 
choose  his  own  staff  of  assistants,  determine  the  function 
and  salary  of  each,  supervise  the  arrangement  of  facilities 
and  the  kinds  of  education  to  be  offered,  and  keep  his  board 
fully  advised  of  the  progress  being  made.  When  he  fails  to 
do  these  things  satisfactorily,  the  board  will  not  take  over 
part  of  his  functions,  but  it  will  replace  him  by  a  man  in 
whom  the  board  has  confidence. 

At  present  the  clerk  of  the  board  is  serving,  and  should 
continue  to  serve,  as  purchasing  agent,  and  before  long  must 
have  an  assistant  either  for  bookkeeping  or  to  serve  as  stock 
clerk  and  messenger.  At  present  some  temporary  part-time 
student  assistance  should  be  provided.  Aside  from  the 
severe  brevity  of  minutes,  the  work  of  the  clerk  is  being 
carried  on  in  an  orderly  fashion.  It  is  possible  for  any  one 
at  any  time  to  see  what  becomes  of  the  board's  money,  what 
materials  are  on  hand,  etc.,  by  consulting  his  books  and 
files. 


38  The  Boise  Survey 

In  Figure  7  it  will  be  noticed  that  a  line  runs  from  the 
superintendent  to  the  clerk  and  purchasing  agent.  This 
line  is  intended  to  indicate  that  the  purchasing  agent  is  defi- 
nitely subordinate  to  the  superintendent  and  takes  all  orders 
and  requisitions  from  him.  As  clerk  he  is  secretary  of  the 
board.  Such  overlapping  of  duties  is  inevitable,  and  the 
board  should  carefully  define  all  the  functions  and  relation- 
ships here  involved,  not  because  there  is  a  lack  of  harmony 
or  cooperation  at  present,  but  as  a  safeguard  for  the  future. 
One  weakness  of  school  organization,  and  hence  of  adminis- 
tration and  supervision,  over  the  country  in  general  lies  in 
the  fact  that  the  functions  of  school  officers  are  not  clearly 
defined,  and  too  often  they  are  not  clearly  conceived  by 
either  the  board  or  the  officers  themselves. 

By  Figure  7  the  office  of  building  inspector  —  which  is 
by  no  means  clearly  defined  at  present  —  is  changed  to  that 
of  superintendent  of  buildings  and  grounds.  This  officer 
should  be  selected  by  the  superintendent  and,  in  addition  to 
the  general  upkeep  of  grounds  and  buildings,  he  should 
supervise  the  work  of  the  janitors  and,  together  with  the 
principal,  recommend  as  to  their  appointment  and  dismissal. 
The  janitor  should  take  orders  from  the  principal  without 
question,  though  the  general  management  of  janitor  service 
should  be  in  the  hands  of  the  building  superintendent. 

It  will  be  noticed  too  that  Figure  7  changes  the  office  of 
school  nurse  to  that  of  medical  supervisor,  who,  through 
an  assistant,  is  also  to  be  in  charge  of  attendance  and  home 
visiting.  The  lines  connecting  with  the  city  board  of  health 
are  intended  to  suggest  that  there  should  be  constant  and 
systematic  cooperation  with  that  board,  and,  while  no  place 
is  left  for  contact  with  the  juvenile  court,  in  extreme  cases 
the  supervisor  of  attendance  should  cooperate  with  that 
court. 

This  plan  calls  for  several  marked  changes  in  the  present 
practice.  It  is  believed  to  embody  the  best  principles  of 
organization  and  administration  and  at  no  point  to  con- 
flict with  what  has  found  successful  expression  in  practice. 


Organization  and  Administration  39 

SUMMARY   AND   RECOMMENDATIONS 

The  Boise  Independent  School  District  has  been  created 
by  the  state  of  IdaJio.  The  trustees  of  this  district  are  state 
officers  to  whom  wide  powers  have  been  granted.  Special 
attention  is  called  to  the  opportunity  for  unhampered  de- 
velopment and  to  the  large  responsibility  which  the  state 
has  thus  imposed  upon  the  trustees  of  the  district.  Some- 
thing of  the  extent  to  which  Boise  has  borne  this  responsi- 
bility and  utilized  this  opportunity  will  appear  in  the  follow- 
ing chapters. 

Boise's  administrative  organization  has  been  described 
and  five  important  points  of  weakness  pointed  out,  as 
follows: 

1.  The  committee  method  of  handling  the  business  of  the 
trustees  is  out  of  keeping  with  modern  administrative  theory 
and  practice; 

2.  The  placement  of  almost  the  entire  supervision  of  in- 
struction in  the  hands  of  the  superintendent  with  one  assist- 
ant, together  with  making  all  principals  "head  teachers" 
and  leaving  the  superintendent  too  little  time  for  important] 
executive  work,  inevitably  results  in  poor  supervision  and 
inadequate  administration; 

3.  Lack  of  proper  limitation  of  the  duties  of  the  building 
inspector,  with  a  consequent  wrong  relationship  between 
principals  and  janitors,  creates  serious  trouble; 

4.  A  wrong  type  of  machinery  for  handling  the  problems 
of  attendance  tends  to  stimulate  rather  than  to  discourage 
delinquency; 

5.  Inadequate  health  supervision  cannot  but  result  from 
the  present  arrangement. 

To  correct  these  weak  points  in  the  system  it  is  recom- 
mended: 

I.  That  the  rules  of  the  board  be  so  revised  as  to  elimi- 
nate all  standing  committees,  with  a  consequent  enlarge- 
ment of  the  executive  powers  of  the  superintendent,  the  in- 
troduction of  a  budget  system  of  finance,  and  a  definitely 


40  The  Boise  Survey 

outlined  policy  touching  the  main  problems  that  have  con- 
stantly to  be  met  by  the  superintendent; 

2.  That  the  idea  of  teaching  principals  be  done  away  with, 
that  the  superintendent  be  freed  from  any  save  general 
supervision  of  all  the  schools,  and  that  more  special  super- 
vision be  introduced; 

3.  That  the  title  of  building  inspector  be  changed  to  that 
of  superintendent  of  buildings  and  grounds,  that  he  shall 
work  under  the  direction  of  the  superintendent  rather  than 
under  the  board  or  one  of  the  board's  committees,  and  that 
he  shall  have  general  supervision  of  all  janitor  service; 

4.  That  attendance  problems  shall  no  longer  be  referred 
to  the  probation  officer  of  the  juvenile  court,  but  that  the 
school  shall  devise  its  own  machinery  for  meeting  that  prob- 
lem by  adding  an  assistant,  a  "visiting  teacher,"  to  the 
office  of  the  medical  supervisor; 

5.  That  the  present  nurse  be  made  supervisor  of  health 
and  attendance  and  be  given  an  assistant. 

With  these  changes  it  is  believed  that  Boise  would  have 
a  thoroughly  modern  administrative  and  supervisory  ma- 
chinery. The  change  would  likely  cost  somewhat  more,  but 
it  would  undoubtedly  result  in  a  large  increase  in  efficiency 
throughout  the  system. 


CHAPTER   III 

THE   TEACHING   STAFF 

(Sears) 

IN  Chapter  I  we  have  attempted  to  set  forth  the  general 
aims  and  purposes  of  education  in  Boise  as  dictated  by 
the  essential  social,  economic,  and  intellectual  forces  which 
characterize  the  city.  In  Chapter  II  we  have  described  and 
tried  to  evaluate  the  administrative  machinery  by  means  of 
which  these  educational  aims  and  purposes  are  to  be  realized. 
Our  next  question  is.  By  what  kind  of  force  is  this  machinery 
being  operated? 

However  wisely  a  city  may  have  chosen  its  educational 
aims,  and  however  satisfactorily  it  may  have  erected  the 
chief  administrative  structure  of  its  school  system,  if  it  fails 
to  provide  a  strong  and  progressive  staff  of  teachers  and 
principals  through  whom  to  work,  its  aims  and  development 
can  never  be  satisfactorily  realized. 

SIZE  AND   DEVELOPMENT   OF   THE   STAFF 

At  present  Boise's  staff  consists  of  128  supervisors  and 
teachers,  distributed  through  one  high  school  and  nine  ele- 
mentary school  buildings  as  follows: 

I  city  superintendent  of  schools 

1  primary  supervisor  for  Grades  i  to  6 

2  special  supervisors,  for  art  and  music  respectively 
I  nurse  or  medical  inspector 

I  building  inspector  (part  time) 

1  high  school  principal 

10  elementary  teaching  principals 

34  high  school  teachers 

74  elementary  school  teachers 

2  special  grade  teachers 
I  librarian 


42 


The  Boise  Survey 


According  to  the  rules  of  the  board  of  education  the 
superintendent  "shall  nominate  for  appointment  all  prin- 
cipals, supervisors,  and  teachers,  and  assign  them  to  their 
various  positions,  and  recommend  salaries  to  be  paid,  sub- 
ject to  the  schedule  adopted.  He  shall  also  recommend  the 
dismissal  of  teachers  who  are  found  to  be  unworthy  of  their 
positions." 

In  the  past,  reports  indicate  that  the  teachers'  committee 
assumed  much  more  responsibility  in  the  development  of 
the  teaching  staff  than  is  true  at  present.  It  cannot  be  too 
strongly  insisted  that  the  board  as  a  whole,  and  not  one  of 
its  committees,  should  scrutinize  the  superintendent's 
recommendations  of  teachers. 


J.     Slow  Growth  of  Boise's  Staff 

One  important  measure  of  a  city's  success  in  the  develop- 
ment of  its  teaching  staff  is  seen  in  the  frequency  with  which 
changes  take  place  from  year  to  year.  A  decade  of  this  fea- 
ture of  Boise's  history  is  shown  in  Table  lo,  from  which 
several  interesting  facts  are  brought  out. 

TABLE   10 

A  Decade  of  the  Growth  of  Boise's  Teaching  Staff  Compaseo 
WITH  Growth  in  Enrollment 


Number  Employed 

Number  of  Changes  or  Additions 
Made 

Total 

Year 

Super- 
visors 

H.S. 
Trs. 

Grade 
Trs. 

Total 

Super- 
visors 

H.S. 
Trs. 

Grade 
Trs. 

ToUl 

Average 
Enroll- 

M. 

W. 

M. 

w. 

M. 

W. 

M. 

W. 

M. 

W. 

M. 

W. 

1909-10 
1910-11 
1911-12 
1912-13 
1913-14 
1914-1S 
1915-16 
1916-17 
1917-18 
1910-19 

I 
a 
5 
5 
5 
5 
4 
4 
3 
4 

11 
13 
14 
14 
19 

:; 

17 

IS 
13 

10 

13 
13 

;i 

18 

\i 

19 
33 

3 

i 

78 
83 

92 
los 
118 
123 
131 
124 
1 30 

I30 

119 
123 

1 
1 
3 

I 

I 
1 

S 
3 
4 

8 
2 

I 

4 

3 

17 

25 

a6 

\l 

7 

13 
14 

2.^ 
38 

36 

li 

41 
32 
19 
19 

27 

5? 

\d 

3196 
3317 
3207 
313a 

33*1 

3193 

The  Teaching  Staff  43 

First,  it  appears  that  the  size  of  the  staff  has  just  kept 
pace  with  the  increase  in  the  school  population.  During 
this  decade  there  has  been  some  fluctuation  in  the  enroll- 
ment figures  from  year  to  year,  but  the  actual  increase  in 
average  school  enrollment  has  been  25  per  cent.  The  in- 
crease in  the  teaching  staff  has  been  slightly  above  25 
per  cent. 

It  must  not  be  forgotten  that  the  modern  curriculum  of 
today  requires  a  relatively  larger  teaching  force  than  did 
the  best  curriculum  of  a  decade  ago.  An  increase  of  several 
per  cent  in  Boise's  teaching  force  as  compared  with  increase 
in  enrollment  would  therefore  have  occasioned  no  surprise. 
In  fact,  such  was  to  have  been  expected. 

2,    Staff  Becoming  Unbalanced  in  Favor  of  High  School 

The  second  point  of  interest  in  this  table  is  seen  in  the 
relatively  rapid  growth  of  the  high  as  compared  with  the 
elementary  school  staff.  The  gain  for  the  high  school  is 
more  than  2>^  per  cent,  while  for  the  elementary  school  it 
is  less  than  18  per  cent.  These  figures  are  significant  when 
studied  in  comparison  with  enrollment  figures.  Boise's  38 
per  cent  increase  in  high  school  staff  has  had  to  meet  only 
a  31  per  cent  growth  in  high  school  student  population, 
while  her  18  per  cent  increase  in  elementary  staff  has  had 
to  meet  a  21  per  cent  growth  in  elementary  school  enroll- 
ment. In  other  words,  these  figures  indicate  that  Boise's 
high  school  policy  has  been  one  of  expansion  and  that  the 
opposite  has  been  true  of  her  elementary  school  policy. 

3,    Staff  Should  Have  More  Men 

A  third  point  of  interest  in  this  table  is  a  comparison  of 
the  number  of  men  and  women  employed  from  year  to  year. 
For  the  high  school  the  balance  between  men  and  women 
has  been  fairly  satisfactory,  even  during  the  war  period. 
The  same,  however,  cannot  be  said  for  supervisors  and  ele- 
mentary teachers. 


44  The  Boise  Survey  ^ 

At  present  there  are  but  two  men  employed  in  the  ele- 
mentary schools,  one  a  manual  training  teacher,  the  other  a 
principal.  The  latter  is  resigning  because  the  opportunity 
for  professional  growth  is  too  slight  where  practically  all 
the  principal's  time  is  devoted  to  teaching. 

It  would  pay  Boise  well  to  employ  at  least  five  men  for 
principalships  and  as  many  more  as  vice  principals  for 
upper-grade  positions.  The  influence  of  that  number  of 
men  among  the  children  of  the  elementary  schools  of  the 
city  would  be  excellent.  This  is  not  to  argue  against  the 
value  of  women  principals.  Everywhere  women  have  held 
high  rank  in  these  positions,  and  the  excellence  of  their 
work  is  acknowledged.  It  is  a  mistaken  policy,  however, 
that  permits  that  excellence  altogether  to  rule  out  the  mas- 
culine influence  from  the  younger  children. 


4,     Too  Rapid  Change  of  Staff 

A  fourth  point  in  this  table,  viz.,  to  what  extent  is  the 
staff  changing  from  year  to  year,  is  more  clearly  shown  in 
Figure  8,  where  the  figures  of  Table  9  have  been  reduced 
to  per  cents.  The  full  length  of  the  bar  represents  100  per 
cent  of  the  staff  for  the  year  indicated  on  the  left.  The 
white  portion  of  the  bar  indicates  the  per  cent  of  the  pre- 
vious year's  staff  that  had  been  retained.  The  remainder  of 
the  bar  represents  the  per  cent  of  the  staff  made  up  of  new 
teachers.  The  per  cent  represented  by  the  gray  portion 
changed  because  of  resignations,  dismissals,  deaths,  etc., 
and  the  black  portion  represents  the  per  cent  of  change  due 
to  increase  in  the  size  of  the  staff. 

In  1909-10,  28.2  per  cent  of  the  teachers  in  Boise  had 
never  taught  there  before,  21.1  per  cent  of  these  new 
teachers  came  as  a  result  of  resignations,  etc.,  while  7.1  per 
cent  represent  the  increase  in  the  size  of  the  staff.  Reading 
down  through  the  diagram,  it  at  once  becomes  apparent  that 
Boise's  teaching  staff  is  rapidly  becoming  less  stable,  and  a 


The  Teaching  Staff 


45 


Percent  Q       lO 


1909'\0 
I910-1I 
1911  -12 
1912-13 
1913-14 
1914-15 
1915-16 
1916-17 
191 7 -J  8 
1916-19 


20    30    4p     Sp 


90     fOO 


Percent  6        lO      20     30     40     50     60     70      60      90     I 


S 


Fig.  8.    Showing  Per  Cent  of  Changes  in  Boise's  Teaching  Staff, 
1909  to  1919 

^White  shows  per  cent  of  staff  retained.     Gray  shows  per  cent  of  change  due  to  resignations, 
dismissal,  etc.    Black  shows  per  cent  of  change  due  to  increase  of  staff. 

Study  of  the  figures  does  not  convince  one  that  the  war 
fully  explains  this  tendency.  Is  it  low  salaries  or  unpleas- 
ant conditions  of  work,  or  is  it  unsuccessful  teachers,  that  is 
causing  this  larger  and  larger  amount  of  shifting  in  Boise^s 
staff?  Whatever  its  cause,  it  is  a  tendency  that  must  not  go 
too  far.  Boise  is  in  a  position  to  demand  a  fair  degree  of 
successful  teaching  experience  as  a  prerequisite  for  candi- 
dacy to  teaching  positions  in  her  schools.  This  diagram 
seems  to  indicate  that  Boise  has  been  training  an  increas- 
ingly large  number  of  teachers  for  positions  elsewhere. 


THE  TRAINING  OF  BOISE'S  TEACHERS 

The  city  of  Boise  is  not  conveniently  located  with  respect 
to  good  facilities  for  the  training  of  teachers,  but,  being  the 
capital  and  largest  city  of  the  state,  and  somewhat  at- 
tractive for  reasons  of  climate,  it  should  be  able  to  attract 
teachers  of  good  training  and  experience.    Table  1 1  shows  in 


46 


The  Boise  Survey 


TABLE  11 
Kinds  and  Amount  of  Training  Received  by  the  Teachers  of  Boise 


No.  of  Teachers 

Kinds  of  Training 

Elementary 

High  School 

Total 

High  School  Course  Only 

High  School  plus  Some  Advanced  Work 

in  Normal  or  College  or  Both  .... 
High  School  plus  Full  Normal  Course  . 
High  School  plus  Full  Normal  plus 

Some  Collecre 

6 

17 
34 

7 
i6 

2 

4 

I 

4 

5 
i8 

I 

6 

22 

35 
11 

High  School  plus  Some  Normal  plus 
Full  College 

5 

High  School  plus  Full  College  Course     . 

High  School  plus  Full  Normal  and  FuU 

Collecre  Courses 

34 

3 

some  detail  what  has  been  the  schooling  of  the  present  staiff 
of  Boise's  teachers. 

From  this  table  it  will  be  seen  that  6,  or  about  s  per  cent 
of  the  115  teachers  included  in  the  table,  have  had  only  a 
high  school  education.  Just  half  of  the  elementary  teachers 
have  had  high  school  plus  a  full  2  years'  course  in  the  nor- 
mal school,  and  16  more  have  had  4  years  in  college  in 
place  of  the  normal  school  course.  Slightly  more  than  half 
of  the  high  school  teachers  have  had  full  high  school  and 
college  courses. 

Table  12  presents  these  data  in  terms  of  "years  in  school 
above  elementary  grade."  From  this  it  will  be  seen  that 
a  very  large  percentage  of  the  elementary  teachers  have 
had  between  5  and  6  years  of  training,  and  that  between 
7  and  8  years  is  equally  popular  with  high  school  teachers. 
The  average  and  median  periods  of  training  for  elementary 
teachers  are  approximately  6  years,  while  the  same  figures 
for  the  high  school  group  are  not  far  short  of  9  years.    In 


The  Teaching  Staff 


47 


TABLE  12 

Years  of  Training  Received  by  Boise's  Teachers 


No.  of  Tearhers 

, 

Elementary 

High  School 

Total 

3yr.   a 

4  " 

5  " 

6  " 

7  " 

8  " 

9  " 

10  " 

11  " 

dd  I  mo. 

(    ^    « 
i    ^    It 

I    ^    11 
I    ^    11 
I    ^    it 
(    ^    « 
t    -    (t 

to    4y 

'     5 
'     6 

'     7    ' 
*     8 

'     9 

'     lO 

'   II 

'     12 

r 

« 

< 

( 
t 

t 
I 

6 

7 

33 

13 

13 

2 

I 

2 

2 

II 

6 

7 
4 

I 

6 
7 

35 
IS 

24 

8 
7 
S 

I 

Average  Teacher's  Training 

6.3  yrs. 

8.8 

7.0 

Median  Teacher's  Training 

6 

8-5 

7.1 

1905-06  nearly  50  per  cent  of  Boise's  teachers  were  nor- 
mal school  graduates,  and  25  per  cent  were  college  gradu- 
ates/ The  first  of  these  figures  is  slightly  higher,  the  second 
slightly  lower,  than  are  similar  figures  describing  Boise's 
present  staff.  In  the  light  of  figures  for  other  cities,  how- 
ever, the  extent  of  the  training  of  Boise's  teachers  is  little, 
if  any,  below  the  average.^ 


J.    Training  in  Service 

An  equally  important  question  is,  Do  the  teachers  keep 
themselves  in  training?  In  answer  to  a  questionnaire  given 
out  to  all  teachers,  asking  how  many  summer  terms  they 
had  attended  during  the  past  five  years,  it  was  found  that 

1  See  Annual  Report  Idaho  Department  of  Public  Instruction,  1905-06. 

2  See  Coffman,  L.  D.,  Social  Composition  of  the  Teaching  Population, 
New  York,  191 1;  also  recent  reports  of  city  school  surveys. 


48  The  Boise  Survey 

49  had  attended  one  or  more  summer  schools,  and  15  had 
taken  extension  courses.  That  is,  approximately  one  half  of 
Boise's  teachers  have  been  carrying  forward  their  training 
during  their  vacation  time.  Of  these,  23  had  attended  but 
I  summer  term;  18  had  attended  2;  3  had  attended  3;  3 
had  attended  4;  and  2  had  attended  5. 

When  we  consider  that  the  state  has  supported  a  summer 
school  at  Boise  for  the  past  several  years,  it  would  seem 
that  a  larger  number  of  teachers  should  have  reported  at- 
tendance at  at  least  one  summer  term  in  five  years.  It  is 
not  unreasonable  for  a  board  of  education  to  expect  its 
teachers  to  attend  summer  school,  to  read,  travel,  and  by 
other  means  keep  up  with  their  profession.  It  is  not  enough 
to  enter  the  teaching  profession  with  a  good  education: 
that  education  can  be  kept  good  only  by  constant  study. 
A  lawyer,  a  merchant,  a  physician  who  ceases  to  study 
soon  loses  his  income.  The  same  principle  should  apply  to 
teachers. 


EXPERIENCE  AND  TENURE  OF  BOISE's  TEACHERS 

The  question  of  whether  Boise  employs  experienced  or 
inexperienced  teachers  is  well  answered  by  the  fact  that: 

77  of  Boise's  82  elementary  teachers  have  taught  outside  of  Boise 

50"       "      82  "  "  "         "  "       "  Idaho 

28 "       "      33  high  school      "  "         "  "       "  Boise 

6"       "      33    "        "  "  "         "  "      "  Idaho 

In  Other  words,  6  per  cent  of  the  present  elementary 
school  staff,  and  less  than  15  per  cent  of  the  present  high 
school  staff,  entered  the  Boise  schools  without  previous 
teaching  experience.  This  should  lay  no  special  burden 
upon  the  city,  though  there  is  no  need  for  Boise  to  employ 
any  inexperienced  teachers. 

Table  13  describes  quite  fully  the  kind  of  teaching  ex- 
perience Boise's  teachers  have  received  to  date.  The  wide 
variety  of  work  which  this  represents  is  undoubtedly  an 


The  Teaching  Staff 


49 


TABLE   13 

Teaching  Experience  of  Elementary  and  High  School  Teachers 

IN  Boise 


Service  in 


High  School  Only 

Principalship  and  High  School  . 
Elementary  and  High  School  . 
Elementary,  Principalship,  and 

School 

Elementary  School  Only  .  .  . 
Elementary  and  Principalship  . 
Elementary  and  Supervisorial  . 
Elementary  and  Kindergarten  . 
Elementary  and  Supervisorial  . 
Other  Combinations 


High 


Number  of  Teachers 


High  School 


Elementary 


3 

49 
II 

3 
4 
3 

2 


Total 


12 

6 
15 

6 

49 
II 

3 
4 
3 


asset  which  helps  the  schools  to  coordinate  the  work  of 
various  departments. 

In  length  of  experience  Boise's  teachers  rank  high  in  com- 
parison with  other  cities.  In  a  report  of  a  government  sur- 
vey of  the  schools  of  Elyria,  Ohio,  the  average  teaching  ex- 
perience of  the  teachers  of  26  different  cities  is  shown.  In 
this  list  there  are  but  8  cities  where  teachers  on  the  average 
have  taught  longer  than  have  the  teachers  of  Boise.^  The 
median  teaching  experience  for  the  teachers  of  Cleveland  is 
10  years,^  for  St.  Louis  it  is  approximately  8  years,^  while 
for  Boise  it  is  10.3  years.  One  fourth  of  the  elementary 
teachers  of  Boise  have  taught  for  16  years  or  more,  and  one 
fourth  have  taught  5  years  or  less. 

1  Educational  Survey  of  Elyria,  Ohio.    United  States  Bureau  of  Educa- 
tion, Bulletin  1918,  No.  15. 

2  Cleveland  Education  Survey,  "The  Teaching  Staff,"  Walter  A.  Jessup. 
Cleveland  Foundation,  1916. 

3  Survey  of  the  St.  Louis  Public  Schools^  Part  I;  Charles  H.  Judd. 
World  Book  Company,  1918. 


so  The  Boise  Survey 

For  the  high  school  group  the  amount  of  teaching  experi- 
ence is  from  3  to  29  years,  almost  exactly  the  range  for 
elementary  teachers,  but  with  an  average  of  only  8.5  years, 
or  nearly  2  years  less  than  the  average  for  elementary 
teachers. 

The  average  teaching  experience  of  Boise's  teachers  may 
be  raised  somewhat  by  the  fact  that  principals  are  included. 
The  principals  are  practically  full-time  teachers,  however; 
so  they  should  be  included. 

If  a  teaching  staff  is  young  and  inexperienced,  the  city 
has  a  serious  task  of  supervising  and  training.  If  the  staff 
is  relatively  old,  and  has  had  long  experience,  it  is  likely  to 
mean  that  new  ideas  are  not  filtering  into  the  system  as 
rapidly  as  they  should  and  that  conservatism  will  dominate. 
On  the  average,  Boise  might  wish  for  slightly  less  rather 
than  more  teaching  experience  for  her  teachers. 

THE  AGES  OF  BOISE'S  TEACHERS 

Boise's  teachers  range  in  ages  from  22  to  56  years.  The 
average  for  the  63  elementary  teachers  and  principals  re- 
porting this  item  is  34.4  years,  while  the  average  for  33 
high  school  teachers  is  32.6  years.  The  middle  50  per  cent 
of  elementary  teachers  are  from  29  to  37  years  old,  and  the 
same  figures  for  the  high  school  group  are  30  to  34.  While 
Boise  has  no  teachers  who  should  be  retired  on  account  of 
age,  yet,  according  to  the  extensive  study  by  Coffman,  above 
cited,  these  ages  are  relatively  high. 

These  figures  are  of  great  importance  to  Boise  in  view  of 
the  provision  the  district  has  made  for  retirement,  old-age 
insurance,  and  disability  funds  for  the  care  of  its  teachers. 
A  recent  state  enactment  makes  it  possible  for  an  indepen- 
dent district  employing  30  or  more  teachers  to  create  a 
Teachers'  Retirement  Fund  from  which  may  be  paid  $40 
per  month  to  any  male  teacher  sixty  years  of  age  and  to 
any  female  teacher  55  years  of  age.  Men  who  have  taught 
for  35  years,  15  of  which  have  been  in  the  schools  of  Boise, 


The  Teaching  Staff  $1 

and  women  who  have  taught  30  years,  15  of  which  have  been 
in  Boise,  are  eligible  to  receive  such  income.  The  fund  is 
also  available  for  old-age  insurance  and  for  providing  in- 
come in  case  of  permanent  disability.  In  terms  of  this  law, 
Boise  has  made  wise  and  generous  provision  for  its  teachers. 

I.    Bearing  of  Age  Statistics  upon  Administration  of 
Boise's  Insurance  and  Disability  Funds 

In  carrying  out  this  law  it  is  obviously  to  Boise's  advan- 
tage to  employ  teachers  who  still  have  before  them  a  large 
expectancy  of  service.  In  doing  this  there  are  two  dangers 
which  the  city  should  carefully  avoid.  One  is  the  danger  of 
adding  to  the  staff  new  teachers  who  are  well  along  in  years 
and  will  soon  become  pensioners;  the  other  is  that  of  em- 
ploying teachers  who  are  so  very  young  in  years  and  ex- 
perience that  they  do  not  enter  tie  service  with  proper 
equipment.  Teachers  who  are  very  young  and  inexperienced 
and  teachers  who  have  had  more  than  ten  or  twelve  years  of 
teaching  experience  are  equally  poor  risks  from  the  stand- 
point of  the  service  they  will  render  in  the  classroom.  One 
is  apt  to  be  untrained  but  will  have  enthusiasm  and  capacity 
to  learn;  the  other  has  the  knowledge  and  skill  but  is  apt 
very  soon  to  become  over-conservative.  The  younger  teacher 
is  a  far  better  risk  from  the  standpoint  of  insurance  but  not 
for  immediate  service;  the  older  teacher  is  better  from  the 
standpoint  of  immediate  service  but  a  poor  insurance  risk. 
When  a  teacher  is  employed,  she  becomes  an  asset  to  the 
city  to  the  extent  of  liie  number  of  years'  service  she  has 
yet  before  her,  and  a  liability  to  the  extent,  not  of  her  present 
salary,  but  of  all  her  future  salaries  plus  the  insurance  and 
pension  cost.  The  insurance  and  pension  parts  of  the  lia- 
bility become  relatively  large  as  ages  are  relatively  high. 
Since  Boise's  age  line  is  high  at  present,  care  in  the  selection 
of  teachers  should  be  exercised,  and  a  careful  study  made 
of  what  sort  of  financial  burden  each  average  year  of  age 
added  to  the  staff  will  mean  to  the  city. 


$2  The  Boise  Survey 

SOCIAL   COMPOSITION  OF  BOISE's   TEACHING   STAFF 

It  is  important  to  know  what  kind  of  teachers  one  is  em- 
ploying, not  only  from  the  standpoint  of  training  and  ex- 
perience, but  also  from  the  standpoint  of  race  and  place  of 
birth.  A  teacher's  personality  is  not  all  made  up  in  school. 
It  is  in  very  large  part  the  product  of  home  and  community 
life  outside  of  school.  If  we  wish  to  know  what  ideas,  tra- 
ditions, and  social  viewpoints  are  to  determine  the  general 
atmosphere  and  methods  of  the  classrooms,  we  must  ask 
where  the  teachers  are  from.  If  all  the  teachers  had  been 
reared  in  Boise  and  were  of  Boise  parentage,  and  in  addition 
had  had  all  their  training  in  Boise,  we  could  confidently 
expect  that  the  outcome  of  such  a  system  of  inbreeding 
would  be  harmful.  Each  generation  would  become  more 
and  more  provincial  and  the  city  more  and  more  isolated. 
Such  an  extreme  situation  is  not  possible  in  Boise,  since  the 
city  offers  no  teachers'  training  facilities. 

These  facts  are  shown  clearly  in  Table  14. 

First  of  all,  it  is  clear  that  American  traditions  dominate 
the  Boise  schools.  Secondly,  it  is  especially  noticeable  that 
Idaho  traditions  alone  do  not,  there  being  practically  no 
parents,  and  only  13,  or  less  than  12  per  cent  of  the  teachers, 
who  were  born  in  the  state.  Certainly  it  cannot  be  said 
that  Boise  employs  too  much  home  talent.  It  is  interesting 
that  the  Pacific  Coast  states  contribute  less  than  do  the 
New  England  states,  and  that  the  largest  percentage  of  the 
staff  are  from  the  North  Central  states.  More  of  the  present 
staff  are  from  Iowa  than  from  Idaho;  Kansas,  Nebraska, 
Illinois,  and  New  York  also  are  well  represented. 

If  these  figures  are  typical  for  other  cities  and  towns  in 
the  state,  they  may  suggest  that  Idaho  should  try  to  speed 
up  the  development  of  her  institutions  of  higher  learning. 
For  the  city  they  surely  guarantee  against  any  sort  of  edu- 
cational tendency  toward  provincialism.  Unquestionably, 
they  indicate  a  wide  variety  in  training  as  well  as  in  social 
traditions.    For  an  inland  city  there  can  be  no  better 


The  Teaching  Staff 


S3 


TABLE  14 

Birthplace  of  Boise's  Teachers  and  of  the  Parents  of  Boise's 
Teachers 


Place  of  Birth  of  Teachers  and  Their 
Parents 


United  States    .   .   . 

Idaho  

New  England  .  .  . 
Middle  Atlantic  .  . 
East  North  Central 
West  North  Central 
South  Atlantic  .  .  . 
East  South  Central  . 
West  South  Central 

Mountain 

Pacific 

Europe 

Canada  

Per  cent  from  U.  S. 
"    "      "    Europe 
"   "      "    Canada 


Fathers 


88 

4 

i8 

36 

14 

S 

4 


I 

20 

6 


Mothers 


94 

I 

7 
13 
34 
24 

3 


I 

3 

19 

3 


Teachers 


no 

13 

5 

7 

20 

42 

2 

I 

19 

5 

4 


77.2 

17-5 

5-3 


81.0 

16.4 

2.6 


96. 5 
3.5 
0.0 


guarantee  against  isolation  than  to  have  a  school  staff  so 
selected,  providing  too  large  a  percentage  of  the  staff  is  not 
changed  each  year. 


BOISE'S    SALARY   SCHEDULE 

The  final  test  of  a  city's  ability  to  choose  its  own  teachers 
freely  is  its  capacity  to  compete  in  the  open  market.  Climate 
and  social  opportunity  may  attract,  but  they  will  have  little 
holding  power  against  greater  financial  returns  elsewhere. 
It  is  the  business  of  the  superintendent  to  run  the  schools 
with  as  few  teachers  as  is  compatible  with  the  best  methods 
for  training  the  city's  children,  and  to  employ  his  teachers 
at  the  least  possible  cost  to  the  city.    First,  it  must  be  de- 


54  The  Boise  Survey 

cided  what  kind  of  schools  are  wanted.  An  old-fashioned 
curriculum  requires  fewer  teachers  than  are  necessary  for 
handling  a  modern  curriculimi.  This  is  true  not  only  be- 
cause there  are  fewer  and  more  formal  studies  in  the  old 
curriculimi,  but  also  because  the  more  formal  the  work  the 
more  pupils  a  teacher  can  manage. 

J.    Basis  for  Determining  Salary  Schedule 

Before  examining  Boise's  salary  schedule,  therefore,  we 
should  ask  how  large  a  teaching  force  and  how  large  a  sal- 
ary budget  the  city  should  have.  The  size  of  the  staff  will 
depend  largely  upon  the  number  of  pupils  to  be  taught.  At 
present  Boise  employs  119  teachers,  exclusive  of  supervisors, 
and  has  an  average  enrollment  of  3193,  or  slightly  better 
than  one  teacher  for  each  28  pupils  enrolled. 

Since  the  schools  have  been  sadly  disturbed  by  war  and 
epidemics  during  the  last  year  or  two,  it  is  thought  that 
figures  for  191 5-16,  as  published  by  the  United  States  Com- 
missioner of  Education,  will  be  a  better  basis  for  the  study 
of  this  question.  From  this  source,  therefore.  Table  15  has 
been  worked  out  to  show  the  standards  for  western  cities 
with  which  Boise  can  properly  be  compared. 

From  this  table  it  appears  that  Boise  occupies  a  median 
position  until  column  3  in  the  table  is  examined.  Among 
these  15  western  cities  the  range  is  from  an  average  of  23.7 
to  31.6  pupils  per  teacher.  Boise,  with  25.8  pupils  per 
teacher,  occupies  a  position  somewhat  better  than  that  of 
the  average  for  the  group  of  cities.  In  pupils  per  supervisor 
Boise  occupies  a  slightly  more  favorable  position  in  the 
table,  being  fourth  in  the  group  of  1 5  cities.  When  it  comes 
to  principals,  however,  Boise,  together  with  Salem  and 
Stockton,  is  at  the  bottom  of  the  list.  A  careful  study  of 
this  table  shows  that  Boise,  on  the  whole,  occupies  a  posi- 
tion far  below  the  average. 

It  will  be  recalled  from  Table  8  that  Boise's  tax  rate  is 
relatively  low,  and  therefore  that  the  city  is  not  compelled  to 


The  Teaching  Staff 


SS 


TABLE  15 

Number  of  Pupils  in  Average  Daily  Attendance  per  Teacher,  per 
Supervisor,  and  per  Principal,  in  Schools  of  Western  Cities 


City 

Pupils  per 

Teacher 

Supervisor 

Principal 

Salem,  Oregon 

Tulsa,  Oklahoma 

Sioux  Falls,  South  Dakota     .... 

Leavenworth,  Kansas 

North  Yakima,  Washington  .... 

Riverside,  California 

Alameda,  California 

BOISE,  IDAHO 

Trinidad,  Colorado  . 

Phoenix,  Arizona 

Bellingham,  Washington 

Everett,  Washington 

Great  Falls,  Montana 

Stockton,  California 

Walla  Walla,  Washington 

23.7 
24.4 

24.5 
.    24.5 
24.7 
24.9 
25.0 
25.8 
26. 5 
27.0 
27.4 
27.8 
28.0 
28.3 
31.6 

2610.0 
630.1 
406.4 
594.0 
661.2 

1509.5 
368.4 
5"  3 
411. 8 

1323.0 
612.0 

1070.5 

561.5 
1176.7 

664.7 

no  principal 
420.0 
316. 1 
792.0 
440.8 

1509.5 

526.2 

no  principal 

344.8 
1323.0 
333.8 
713.6 
842.2 
no  principal 
531.8 

Average  of  cities 

26.3 

874.0 

674.4 

occupy  such  a  position  among  cities  of  her  own  class.  It 
was  pointed  out  above  that  Boise's  staff  had  barely  kept 
pace  with  the  city's  growth  in  population.  To  occupy  the 
best  position  in  this  table  Boise  should  have  at  least  129 
teachers,  7  supervisors,  and  9  principals,  instead  of  119 
teachers,  6  supervisors,  and  no  principals,  as  reported  by 
the  United  States  Commissioner  of  Education.^ 

To  add  to  Boise's  unfavorable  position,  it  must  be  pointed 
out  that  the  city  has  no  ungraded  rooms.  This  means  that 
all  pupils,  however  difficult  to  classify,  must  be  taught  in  reg- 

1  Boise  has  lo  elementary  school  buildings,  in  each  of  which  there  is 
a  head  teacher  who  is  designated  as  principal.  The  title  is  mainly  an 
empty  one,  as  the  principal  has  practically  no  time  for  supervision. 


56 


The  Boise  Survey 


ular  classes.  This  is  a  wasteful  method,  particularly  in  the 
larger  schools.  Further,  Boise  has  all  her  manual  training 
work  for  the  grades  done  in  one  building  by  one  teacher, 
and  the  work  in  physical  education  and  directed  play  in  the 
elementary  schools  is  not  adequately  provided  for. 

2.    Boise* s  Present  Salary  Expenditures 

What  Boise  is  now  expending  for  teachers'  salaries  is 
clearly  shown  in  Figure  9.  Salaries  of  elementary  teachers 
—  including  principals  —  range  from  $600  to  $1900,  while 
in  the  high  school  the  range  is  from  $1100  to  $2200.  The 
median  and  average  salaries  for  elementary  teachers  are 
$980  and  $1013  respectively,  while  similar  figures  for  high 
school  teachers  are  $1250  and  $1360. 

In  evaluating  these  salaries  it  is  worth  while  to  consider 
certain  facts  gathered  by  Dr.  George  D.  Strayer,  President 
of  the  National  Education  Association,  who  sent  out  a  ques- 
tionnaire to  the  teachers  of  the  country,  asking,  among 
other  things,  for  a  statement  of  the  "Annual  amount  spent 
for  personal  living  expenses:  room  rent,  board,  clothes, 
car  fare,  medical  attention,  etc.,"  and  the  "Annual  amount 
spent  for  recreation,  books,  magazines,  travel,  professional 
advancement,  etc.,"  for  the  year  191 7-18,  and  die  estimate 
of  the  same  expenses  for  the  year  191 8-1 9.    Without  giving 


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Fio.  9.    Distribution  of  Teachers'  Salaries  in.  Boise,  191 8-19 


The  Teaching  Staff  57 

the  details  of  the  answers  given  by  the  teachers  of  Boise,  it 
is  enough  to  say  that  the  median  amount  spent  for  living  ex- 
penses in  191 7-18  —  men  high  school  teachers  excepted  — 
was  $750;  and  for  recreation,  professional  advancement, 
etc.,  the  median  amount  was  $125  for  elementary  teachers 
and  $225  for  all  high  school  teachers/  The  figures  esti- 
mating similar  costs  for  1918-19  were  in  nearly  every  case 
higher. 

Surely  all  will  agree  that  the  amount  devoted  to  recrea- 
tion and  professional  development  is  not  too  high  if  the 
teachers  are  expected  to  keep  abreast  of  the  times.  If 
from  the  median  elementary  teacher's  salary  of  $980,  $750 
is  spent  for  living,  and  $125  for  recreation,  etc.,  the  teacher 
has  very  little  left  as  insurance  against  old  age  and  dis- 
ability. In  fact,  society  cannot  wisely  afford  to  have  its 
teachers  operating  on  such  a  narrow  financial  margin. 

5.    Salaries  and  the  Rising  Cost  of  Living 

Figure  9  shows  how  Boise's  salary  schedule  has  been 
raised  to  offset  the  rising  cost  of  living  during  the  last  three 
years.  The  disappearance  of  the  very  low  salaries  is  offset 
by  an  increase  in  the  number  of  higher  salaries.  This  in- 
crease is  well  stated  in  terms  of  median  and  average  salaries, 
as  shown  in  Table  16. 

From  this  table  and  from  Figure  10  it  appears  that  Boise 
has  tried  to  meet  the  increased  salary  demands  that  have 
so  rapidly  forced  themselves  upon  us  since  the  beginning  of 
the  war.  Whether  Boise  has  done  enough  in  this  line  it  is 
difficult  to  say.  After  a  somewhat  thorough  study  of 
teachers'  salaries  and  costs  of  living  in  Idaho,  Dr.  E.  A. 
Bryan,  State  Conmiissioner  of  Education,  makes  the  state- 
ment that  for  the  year  191 7-1 8  the  increase  in  salaries 
amounted  to  6%,  while  the  increase  in  cost  of  living  was 
17%.  Of  the  72  teachers  on  Boise's  191 7  staff  who  were 
retained,  52  received  salary  increases  ranging  from  $45  to 

1  Thanks  are  due  Superintendent  C.  E.  Rose  for  the  use  of  these  figures. 


58 


The  Boise  Survey 


TABLE  16 

Showing  Increase  in  Median  and  Average  Salaries  in  Boise, 
1916  TO  1919 


Pla«y;  of  Tp-arhers 

1917 

1918 

1919 

Med. 

Ave. 

Med. 

Ave. 

Med. 

Ave. 

High  School 

Elementary  School  .  .  . 

$1000 
870 

$1096 
856 

$1200 
885 

$1233 
907 

$1250 
980 

$1366 
1013 

$325  and  averaging  $82.94  each;  while  20  received  no  in- 
crease at  all.  For  the  entire  72  teachers  this  meant  slightly 
less  than  a  7%  increase.  For  the  52  whose  salaries  were 
raised  it  meant  an  increase  of  10.4%.  Even  assuming  that 
Dr.  Bryan's  figures  describing  increase  in  cost  of  living  are 
too  conservative,  as,  offhand,  most  people  would  think, 
Boise  has  still  fallen  far  short  of  her  obligation  to  her 
teachers. 


4,    Boise's   Salaries   Compared  with    Those   of 
Other  Cities 

What  Boise  has  done  in  comparison  with  other  western 
cities  is  a  further  basis  for  judging  the  adequacy  of  her  sal- 
ary schedule.  This  is  brought  out  clearly  in  Table  17, 
which  shows  the  maximum  and  minimum  salaries  of  ele- 
mentary and  high  school  teachers  and  principals  and  of 
superintendents  for  15  western  cities,  together  with  the 
per  cent  of  increase  in  these  salaries  during  the  last  four 
years. 

This  table  shows  that  the  range  of  minimum  salaries  for 
elementary  teachers  is  from  $700  to  $1200,  with  $945  as 
the  average.   The  maximum  salaries  for  elementary  teachers 


The  Teaching  Staff 


59 


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Fig.  10.    Distribution  of  Elementary  and  High  School  Salaries  in 
Boise  for  the  Past  Three  Years 

range  from  $1025  to  $1500,  with  $1249  as  an  average.  For 
high  school  teachers  the  range  in  minimum  salaries  is  from 
$1000  to  $1560,  with  $1196  as  an  average;  while  in  maxi- 
mum salaries  the  range  is  from  $1200  to  $1920,  with  $1590 
as  the  average. 
In  all  teachers'  salaries  Boise  stands  above  the  average 


6o  The  Boise  Survey 

for  these  15  cities.^  A  similar  examination  of  the  figures 
showing  principals'  salaries  shows  that  Boise  is  well  above 
the  average  for  high  school  principals  but  below  the  average 
for  grade  principals.  For  superintendents  Boise's  salary  is 
also  above  the  average  for  the  group  of  cities  from  which 
figures  could  be  obtained. 

As  compared  with  other  cities,  therefore,  it  must  be  said 
that  Boise  occupies  a  fairly  favorable  position  when  we 
consider  the  salaries  to  be  paid  in  1919-20.  When  we  study 
the  other  columns  in  the  table,  however,  we  see  that  Boise 
has  not  kept  pace  with  the  average  city  in  the  per  cent 
of  increase  granted  during  the  last  four  years.  Boise  has 
granted  substantial  increases,  however,  so  that  at  present 
we  may  say  that,  in  the  light  of  present-day  standards, 
Boise's  salary  schedule  is  fully  adequate. 

In  the  light  of  the  several  arguments  here  presented,  and 
of  all  our  facts  taken  together,  however,  we  would  urge  Boise 
to  assume  a  larger  place  of  leadership  among  western  cities 
in  this  very  important  matter.  We  cannot  demand  that 
teachers  keep  up  in  their  profession  imless  we  offer  them 
reasonable  financial  returns.  In  offering  to  their  teachers 
a  bonus  of  $60  to  $100  for  successful  work  done  at  summer 
schools,  Boise  has  taken  a  commendable  step  forward.  With 
such  rewards  and  with  adequate  salaries,  Boise  should  be 
able  to  choose  her  teachers  from  where  she  will,  and  besides, 
she  will  stimulate  other  cities  to  put  their  schools  on  a 
sound  financial  basis. 

SUMMARY  AND  RECOMMENDATIONS 

In  respect  to  Boise's  teaching  staff  the  following  points 
are  of  interest,  and  many  of  them  deserve  careful  study  by 
the  city's  school  authorities: 

1.  Authority  for  the  nomination  of  teachers  in  Boise  is 
very  properly  vested  in  the  superintendent  of  schools. 

2.  The  size  of  Boise's  teaching  staff  has  for  the  past 
decade  barely  kept  pace  with  the  increase  in  school  p)opu- 

1  See  also  Boise's  place  among  cities  of  the  same  population. 


The  Teaching  Staff 


6i 


TABLE  17 

Comparative  Salary  Schedules  in  Western  Cities  for  Year  1919-20, 
Showing  Per  Cent  Increase  in  Last  Four  Years  ^ 


Teachers 

Principals 

Superintendent 

City 

Min. 

Max. 

Per  Cent 
Increase 
in  Last 
4  Years 

Min. 

Max. 

Per  Cent 
Increase 
in  Last 
4  Years 

Sakry 

Per  Cent 
Increase 
in  4  Years 

Min. 

;Max. 

Min. 

Max. 

^  Elementary  Schools 
Reno,  Nev 

$900 
1200 

& 

900 

¥ 

840 
1000 
1000 

HOC 

850 

1 140 

700 

loco 

$1200 
1400 
1260 
1290 

1025 
1400 
1202 
1260 
1150 
1200 
1300 
1150 
1500 

IIOO 

1300 

16.6 

28!o 
40.0 

28.S 
7.1 
42. 5 
40.0 
38.8 

g:l 

13.3 
31-5 
14-3 
22.0 

33.3 
47.3 
34-7 
30.3 

13.7 

22.8 
41.4 
32.6 
59.7 

SO.o 
20.0 

III 

$1300 
J     24 
1500 
1500 

1140 

1500 
1230 
1600 

1560 
1500 
I4S0 

$1500 
00 

1500 
2i6o 

1650 
1900 
1750 
1770 
1600 

2100 
1500 
1600 

30.0 

2s!o 
13.6 

14.9 

66!  6 
II. 8 
33.3 

is*3 
33.3 
22.1 

1S.3 
47.9 
25.0 
16. 1 

12. 1 

29.6 
10.6 
33.3 

ii!4 

$4000 
3750 
2800 
3500 

4SOO 
3100 
3000 
3400 

3000 
4000 
3700 

21.2 

Albuquerque,  N.  Mex 
Cheyenne,  Wyo.  .  . 
Everett,  Wash.    .  . 

Fargo,  N.  Dak.    .   . 
Great  Falls,  Mont.2 
Trinidad,  Colo.     .   . 

92.0 
0.0 

12.5 

(decrease) 

2S.O 

S.o 
20.0 

BeUingham,  Wash.  . 
Pocatello,  Idaho  ,   . 
Blackfoot,  Idaho  .   . 

6.2 

Walla  Walla,  Wash. 
Stockton.  Calif.    .   . 
Sioux  Falls,  S.  Dak. 
BOISE,  IDAHO    . 

00.0 
12. 5 
II. 2 

Average 

945 

1249 

32.0 

35. S 

1428 

178s 

26.6 

22.0 

3522 

19-3 

High  Schools 


Reno,  Nev.    .  . 
Cheyenne,  Wyo, 
Albuquerque,  N.  Mex 
Everett,  Wash. 
Fargo,  N.  Dak 
Great  Falls,  Mont 
Trinidad,  Colo 
BeUingham,  Wash 
Pocatello,  Idaho 
Blackfoot,  Idaho 
Nampa,  Idaho  . 
WaUa  WaUa,  Wash. 
Stockton,  Calif.    .    , 
Sioux  Falls,  S.  Dak. 
BOISE,  IDAHO 


Average 


1200 
1140 
1320 
1020 
1000 

IIOO 

1000 
1 140 


1500 
1440 
1500 
1500 
1600 
1900 
1750 
1440 


(1200) 


1300 
1250 
1200 
1560 
1200 
1300 


ti96 


1500 
1450 
iSoo 
1920 
1800 
1850 


20.0 
21.9 
52.5 
27.5 
II. I 
16.6 
25.0 
26.6 


15.4 
36.4 
38.8 
25.0 
14.3 
18.7 
45.8 
IS. 2 


(20.0) 


73.3 
35.9 
33-3 
30.0 
33.3 
23.0 


1590    29.9    32.6 


76.4 

45.5 
44.0 

23.1 
50.0 
21.6 


(2600) 
(2000) 

(2800) 

(2600) 

(2650) 
(3120) 
(2100)  * 
i860 1  2400 
(2200) 


(3200) 
(2700) « 

(3600) 

(2800) 


2654 


(8.3) 
(23.4) 
(80.6) 
(7.1) 

(20. 5) 
(24.8) 
(16.6) 
16.2  I  00.0 
(22.2) 


(23.1). 

(No  raise  in  3  years) 

(16. 1) 

(10.7) 


23.0' 


*  Thanks  are  due  the  superintendents  of  schools  in  the  following  cities  for  the  facts  here 
presented. 

'  Fieures  for  1918-19. 

*  BeUingham  and  Stockton  not  included. 


62  The  Boise  Survey 

lation.  Its  growth  has  not  been  as  great  as  is  demanded  for 
the  handling  of  a  modern  curriculum.  These  statements 
apply  much  more  particularly  to  the  elementary  than  to 
the  high  school. 

3.  While  the  high  school  has  continued  to  employ  a  fair 
percentage  of  men  teachers,  there  have  been,  and  still  are, 
practically  no  men  in  the  elementary  schools.  To  give  a 
proper  sex  balance  to  Boise's  teaching  staff,  there  should 
be  at  least  five  men  principals  and  as  many  more  men  vice- 
principals. 

4.  There  is  a  tendency  in  recent  years  toward  an  in- 
creasing number  of  changes  in  Boise's  teaching  staff.  This 
is  a  tendency  that  can  easily  go  too  far,  if  it  has  not  already 
done  so. 

5.  Boise  is  without  facilities  for  training  her  own  teachers 
and  so  must  give  special  thought  to  the  training  of  teachers 
while  in  service.  The  summer  school,  reading-circle  work, 
occasional  professional  lectures,  conventions,  and  teachers' 
meetings  should  be  liberally  drawn  upon  for  such  training. 

6.  As  compared  with  other  cities,  Boise's  staff  has  about 
an  average  amount  of  training.  About  one  fourth  of  the 
grade  teachers  are  imder-trained. 

7.  Boise  employs  few  inexperienced  teachers,  and  should 
not  have  to  employ  any. 

8.  The  length  of  teaching  experience  for  Boise's  teachers 
is  greater  on  the  average  than  is  common  in  other  cities. 
This  is  a  point  to  be  watched  in  developing  a  staff. 

9.  Boise's  teachers  average  somewhat  older  than  is  com- 
mon in  other  cities.  This  should  be  carefully  guarded 
against  in  all  new  appointments,  not  only  because  of  the  in- 
creased insurance  and  pension  liabilities  which  it  creates, 
but  because  it  does  not  mean  the  best  service. 

10.  From  the  standpoint  of  race  and  birthplace  Boise's 
teachers  are  a  very  cosmopolitan  group.  This  is  an  asset  if 
the  staff  does  not  change  too  rapidly. 

11.  Boise  is  not  maintaining  as  large  a  teaching  staff  in 
proportion  to  pupil  population  as  is  common  in  other  western 


The  Teaching  Staff  63 

cities.  Ten  to  fifteen  teachers  and  principals  added  to  the 
present  staff  would  not  place  Boise  ahead  of  the  best  cities 
in  this  respect. 

12.  Boise's  salaries  are  much  too  low  when  judged  in 
the  light  of  the  present  cost  of  living.  When  judged  by  sal- 
aries paid  in  other  cities,  Boise's  salaries  are  up  to  standard, 
though  they  are  not  among  the  highest. 


CHAPTER  IV 

THE    CURRICULUM 

(Sears) 

EXTENT  OF  BOISE's  EDUCATIONAL  PROGRAM 

THE  Child  Labor  Act  of  Idaho  provides  ample  protection 
for  children  under  14  years  of  age,  and  up  to  16  years 
of  age  for  those  who  have  not  learned  to  read  and  write 
the  English  language,  and  who  have  not  received  instruction 
in  spelling,  English  grammar,  geography,  and  arithmetic. 
The  State's  Compulsory  Education  Act  applies  to  all  chil- 
dren between  the  ages  of  8  and  18  years  who  have  not  com- 
pleted the  8th  school  grade.  The  Boise  Independent  School 
District  utilizes  the  juvenile  court  machinery  for  carrying 
out  the  provisions  of  these  laws,  in  so  far  as  the  teachers  are 
responsible  for  their  execution. 

These  laws  are  designed  not  merely  to  protect  the  physical 
well-being  of  the  state's  children,  but  also  to  provide  a  time 
for  instruction  and  training.  The  Boise  Independent  School 
District  has  taken  over  from  the  state  the  task  of  training 
all  the  children  within  the  jurisdiction  of  the  district,  and 
has  provided  the  necessary  equipment  for  giving  every  child 
a  minimum  of  12  years  of  instruction,  beginning  normally 
with  the  age  of  6  years  and  ending  with  the  age  of  18  years. 

During  this  period  of  12  years  the  Boise  schools  are  offer- 
ing what  is  commonly  offered  in  the  elementary  and  secon- 
dary schools  over  the  country.  No  attempt  is  made  to 
offer  kindergarten  or  junior  college  training,  though  it  is 
possible  for  high  school  students  to  carry  on  some  post- 
graduate study  if  they  wish.  There  may  be  no  pressing 
demand  for  kindergartens  in  most  parts  of  the  city,  but,  as 
will  be  shown  elsewhere  in  this  report,  there  are  many  and 

64 


The  Curriculum  65 

important  reasons  why  a  substantial  junior  college  should 
be  developed  at  Boise. 


WHAT  A  CURRICULUM  IS 

Just  what  the  program  of  training  for  Boise,  or  for  any 
given  city,  should  include  is  most  difficult  to  say.  To  decide 
upon  the  content  of  a  curriculum  is  to  give  practical  ex- 
pression to  our  conception  of  "what  education  means," 
"what  studies  are  of  most  worth,"  "the  relation  of  learning 
to  citizenship,"  and  many  other  questions  which  have 
puzzled  philosophers  as  far  back  as  Plato  and  Confucius. 

Without  attempting  a  concise  philosophical  definition  of 
what  a  curriculum  is,  it  is  believed  that  the  following  state- 
ments express  the  best  thought  on  the  subject  at  the  present 
time: 

1.  A  curriculum  is  a  body  of  information  and  exercises  (physical, 
social,  aesthetic,  moral,  intellectual,  etc.)  to  be  utilized  in  the  train- 
ing of  children. 

2.  The  materials  and  exercises  so  used  are  chosen  from  among 
the  facts  and  processes  known  to  have  value  to  society.  (Society 
is  composed  of  children  as  well  as  adults.) 

3.  There  is  vastly  more  useful  information  and  there  are  vastly 
more  useful  activities  available  for  curriculum  purposes  than  can 
be  used.    Hence  the  necessity  for  selecting. 

4.  Each  bit  of  information  and  each  exercise  should  be  selected 
for  a  certain  desirable  and  well-defined  purpose,  which  purpose 
will  be  better  served  by  that  information  or  exercise  than  by  any 
other. 

5.  Information  and  exercises  must  be  well  balanced  with  respect 
to  the  essential  recognized  intellectual,  moral,  political,  occupa- 
tional, aesthetic,  and  phy^cal  values  in  life.  In  other  words,  the 
curriculum  must  not  be  one-sided. 

It  will  be  noticed  that  such  a  curriculum  calls  for  action 
as  well  as  for  knowledge.  We  are  now  recognizing  that  the 
past  has  over-emphasized  the  factual  or  bookish  type  of 
training  and  under-emphasized  the  physical  and  social 
types.  The  present  conception  of  education  calls  for  a 
reinstatement  in  the  curriculum  of  the  "do"  side  of  life. 


66  The  Boise  Survey 

The  test  of  good  subject  matter  today  is  social  utility,  — 
social,  not  in  a  narrow  but  in  a  broad  sense.  Personal  cleanli- 
ness is  as  much  a  social  as  it  is  an  individual  virtue.  Society 
wants  its  members  to  be  physically  strong  and  economically 
competent.  It  also  wants  each  to  make  whatever  intellec- 
tual or  social  contribution  possible.  A  successful  group  is 
made  up  of  successful  individuals,  and  for  the  schools  the 
so-called  conflict  between  the  individual  and  the  social  is 
entirely  without  point. 

The  necessity  for  selecting  from  the  many  socially  useful 
facts  and  processes  is  ever  present,  because  as  time  passes 
invention  and  discovery  cause  the  development  of  new  needs, 
hence  new  values  arise.  It  is  the  function  of  the  school  to 
detect  these  new  values  and  to  find  a  place  for  them  in  the 
curriculum.  The  war  has  called  for  a  more  thorough  un- 
derstanding of  citizenship.  It  has  insisted  that  we  mean 
something  definite  when  we  say  "My  country."  Our  present 
task,  then,  is  to  work  over  our  subject  matter  on  civics  and 
history  with  a  view  to  giving  place  to  these  new  values. 
This  merely  illustrates  how  the  school  must  keep  up  a  select- 
ing and  sorting-out  process  if  it  is  to  have  a  modern 
curriculum. 

In  making  a  curriculum,  e.  g.,  in  selecting  subject  matter, 
nothing  is  more  important  than  that  we  should  have  a  clear 
aim.  The  modern  sciences  of  psychology  and  sociology  have 
shaken  down  some  of  the  older  aims,  as  "mental  discipline," 
"breaking  the  will,"  "training  the  senses,"  etc.,  and  given 
us  a  clearer  understanding  of  the  laws  of  learning,  and  of 
educational  values.  This  new  knowledge  applied  to  educa- 
tion makes  it  possible  for  us  to  answer  society^s  urgent  de- 
mand that  the  school  shall  meet  the  specific  definable  needs 
of  the  times. 

Our  fifth  point  calls  for  a  many-sided  curriculum.  The 
traditional  school  exercised  the  child^s  memory,  but  seldom 
his  hands,  his  eyes,  or  his  reason.  It  taught  him  wise  say- 
ings, but  little  about  how  to  manage  his  own  or  his  com- 
munity's affairs.    The  modern  curriculum  must  be  expanded 


The  Curriculum  67 

to  the  end  that  the  child  may  learn  something  of  all  the 
aspects  of  his  present  and  future  life  among  his  fellows. 

In  Chapter  I  we  have  presented  a  brief  discussion  of  the 
many  aspects  of  life  in  Boise,  which  are  involved  in  the 
making  of  the  city's  school  policy  and  from  which  this  cur- 
riculum material  must  in  a  measure  be  drawn,  and  there  we 
suggested  certain  problems  which  the  curriculum  must  face. 
Here  let  us  repeat  that  the  whole  life  of  Boise,  —  its  occu- 
pations, its  social  life,  its  political  life,  its  intellectual  life,  — 
all  are  to  be  kept  in  mind  as  rich  sources  from  which  the 
materials  of  the  curriculum  are  to  be  brought  together. 
Furthermore,  the  institutional  life  of  Boise  must  become  a 
real  laboratory  for  the  schools.  The  state  capitol,  the  city 
hall,  and  the  courtrooms  of  Boise  can  and  should  be  utilized 
in  the  teaching  of  civics.  The  city  health  department  should 
be  drawn  upon  in  the  teaching  of  hygiene,  etc. 

THE  ELEMENTARY  SCHOOL  CURRICULUM  IN  BOISE*      ^ 

With  these  principles  in  mind,  let  us  enumerate  the  sub- 
jects taught  in  Boise's  elementary  schools  and  later  examine 
the  content  of  those  subjects.  In  the  first  grade  we  find 
reading,  language,  hygiene,  phonics,  nature  study,  music, 
art,  and  physical  education.  In  Grade  2  are  added  arithme- 
tic and  spelling.  In  Grade  3  one  school  offers  work  in 
mechanical  arts  in  addition  to  the  studies  offered  in  Grades 
I  and  2.  Grade  4  adds  history  and  geography  and  drops 
phonics.  Grade  5  adds  manual  training  and  domestic 
science.  These  studies  continue  through  Grade  6  and  to 
the  middle  of  Grade  7,  when  geography  is  dropped.  Grade 
8  drops  reading  and  spelling  and  in  the  middle  of  the  year 
domestic  science  and  manual  training,  and  adds  general 
science  and  algebra. 

This  entire  offering  of  the  elementary  schools  is  made 
clear  by  Figure  11,  which  shows  all  that  a  child  may  study 
in  each  of  the  grades.  There  is  some  slight  variation  from 
this  in  a  few  schools. 

1  For  discussion  of  the  high  school  curriculum,  see  pages  229-237. 


68 


The  Boise  Survey 


SUBJECT:               e^U 

PHONICS 

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1^ 

■■ 

S 

■ 

1^ 

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PHYsicaLTRmm 

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Fig.  II.    Boise's  Elementary  School  Curriculum  by  Grades 

Only  five  of  the  nine  elementary  schools  offer  the  entire 
eight  years'  work.  One  school  offers  but  five  years'  and 
three  schools  but  six  years'  work.  All  the  manual  training 
and  domestic  science  that  is  taught  is  taught  in  the  Central 
School.  It  is  with  some  slight  inconvenience,  therefore,  that 
all  the  studies  suggested  in  Figure  ii  are  available  for  all 
the  children  of  the  district. 

In  kinds  of  training  offered,  then,  we  may  say  that  all 
the  traditional  subjects  are  well  represented,  while  art,  music, 
domestic  science,  manual  training,  and  nature  study  add 
the  newer  content.  To  the  customary  courses  Boise  has 
added  algebra  and  general  science.  Whether  these  were 
intended  primarily  as  introductory  high  school  subjects  or 
not,  that  would  seem  to  be  the  only  service  that  algebra 
could  render.  As  is  shown  elsewhere,  a  large  percentage  of 
Boise's  pupils  enter  high  school,  though  large  numbers  of 
these  drop  out  at  the  end  of  one  year.  In  other  words,  Boise 
is  no  exception  to  the  rule  that  upper-grade  children  need 
studies  that  will  introduce  them  to  life  as  well  as  to  high 
school  and  later  to  college.    Algebra  has  little  value  for  the 


The  Curriculum  69 

boy  who  goes  no  more  than  one  year  to  high  school.  It 
does  not  equip  him  for  a  professional  career  nor  does  it  for 
a  career  in  a  trade.  It  is  therefore  fair  to  say  that  Boise 
should  offer  several  prevocational  courses  to  meet  the  more 
pressing  needs  of  children  who  are  about  to  end  their  formal 
schooling.  It  is  believed  that  a  broad  knowledge  of  our 
great  industries,  skill  in  mechanical  construction,  tool  proc- 
esses and  technique,  mechanical  drawing,  etc.,  would  make  a 
greater  contribution,  if  properly  taught,  than  would  algebra. 
General  science  would  be  in  line  with  this  group  of  sug- 
gested subjects  and  so  is  a  commendable  part  of  the  present 
offering. 

Perhaps  until  Boise's  buildings  are  better  adapted  to  a 
real  intermediate  school  or  junior  high  school  plan  of  or- 
ganization the  expense  of  putting  in  shop  courses  might  be 
large.  With  the  new  building  now  being  erected  it  would 
seem  possible  to  work  out  such  a  plan.  If  all  or  most  of  the 
1000  children  of  Grades  7,  8,  and  9  could  be  put  into  one 
building,  then  a  widely  varied  curriculum  such  as  would 
mark  a  great  advance  in  the  city's  schools  could  be  offered. 
Some  modification  of  a  few  of  the  old  buildings  might  be 
necessary,  but  the  commission  fails  to  discover  any  perma- 
nent or  even  serious  present  difficulties  in  the  way  of  such  a 
program. 

WHAT  A  PRINTED  COURSE  OF   STUDY  SHOULD  CONTAIN 

A  printed  or  typewritten  course  of  study  is  primarily  a 
handbook  for  teachers  and  school  officers.  Its  function  is 
to  systematize  and  coordinate  the  work  of  the  schools.  This 
can  be  done  only  when  each  teacher  knows  the  part  she  is 
to  play  in  the  sum  total  of  the  school's  program.  The  out- 
line must  therefore  give  her  not  only  the  general  plan  of  her 
own  work  but  the  place  of  that  work  in  the  larger  plan  as 
well.  If  she  is  teaching  5th  grade  reading,  she  should  know 
what  the  schools  propose  to  accomplish  not  by  the  5th  grade 
reading  alone,  but  by  the  entire  course  of  8  years  as  well. 


70  The  Boise  Survey 

What  has  been  accomplished,  what  is  yet  to  be  done,  what 
am  I  to  do,  are  questions  which  the  printed  outline  must 
answer  for  her. 

To  be  useful,  a  printed  course  of  study  should  contain  the 
following  materials: 

1.  A  brief,  clear  statement  of  the  aim  of  each  study  and  of  the 
specific  aim  of  each  year's  work  in  that  study.  The  language  used 
should  not  be  so  general  as  to  be  useless.  To  say  that  the  aim  of 
teaching  reading  is  ahUity  to  read  readily  is  entirely  worthless  imless 
there  is  an  understanding  of  what  "read  readily"  means. 

2.  A  brief  outline  of  the  subject  matter  and  exercises  to  be 
covered  by  years  or  terms.  There  should  be  many  suggestions  as 
to  how  to  supplement  the  texts  and  manuals  to  be  used. 

3.  A  statement  (quantitative  where  possible)  of  the  work  to  be 
accomplished,  not  only  in  amount  of  ground  to  be  covered,  but  of 
the  quality  of  work  as  well,  —  not  only  how  much  matter  is  to  be 
read  but  the  rate  of  reading,  the  abihty  to  get  the  thought  from 
the  printed  page,  etc.  In  this  particular  subject  the  Thomdike, 
Gray,  and  other  standard  tests  make  possible  a  very  clear  statement 
of  what  is  to  be  accompUshed. 

4.  A  statement  of  the  amount  of  time  that  should  normally  be 
devoted  to  the  study  and  recitation  of  each  subject. 

5.  Innumerable  brief  suggestions  as  to  the  manipulation  of 
materials,  the  use  of  devices,  and  the  management  of  the  class  in 
study  and  recitation. 

The  outhnes  should  be  brief  and  written  in  simple  language,  and 
above  all,  they  should  be  in  constant  use  by  teachers. 


BOISE'S   OUTLINE   OF   COURSES 

Boise  does  not  have  a  printed  course  of  study  (a  high 
school  course  is  in  preparation)  but  uses  mimeographed 
sheets  which  each  teacher  may  place  together  in  a  loose-leaf 
folder.  In  some  respects  these  outlines  meet  the  standards 
just  suggested.  The  outline  for  reading  states  the  aims, 
means,  and  ends  of  the  course,  and  quotes  the  Starch,  Gray, 
and  Courtis  standards  for  rate  of  reading.  At  many  points, 
however,  the  aims  of  courses  are  not  stated,  or  are  stated 
in  a  vague,  general  way.  In  many  cases  helpful  suggestions 
are  wanting,  the  outline  of  subject  matter  is  inadequate  or 


The  Curriculum  71 

similar  to  the  textbook,  and  too  little  supplementary  ma- 
terial is  suggested. 

J.    The  English  Courses 

As  will  be  shown  later,  Boise  devotes  more  than  two  fifths 
of  the  time  of  the  elementary  schools  to  the  study  of  Eng- 
lish. Phonics,  reading,  spelling,  writing,  language,  and 
grammar  are  the  subjects  taught:  phonics  in  the  first  four 
grades,  reading  in  the  first  seven,  spelling  in  the  second  to 
eighth  inclusive,  grammar  in  the  seventh,  and  language  in 
all  grades.  The  outlines  for  phonics  and  reading  are  brief, 
but  the  plan  and  suggestions  are  good.  The  amount  of 
reading  material  seems  rather  more  limited  and  somewhat 
less  varied  than  it  should  be,  particularly  for  the  upper 
grades.  The  work  outlined  for  spelling  is  excellent,  except 
that  very  much  more  emphasis  is  placed  upon  the  use  of 
rules  in  spelling  than  is  warranted.  Recent  investigations 
indicate  that  most  of  the  time  put  on  spelling  rules  is  lost 
so  far  as  training  in  spelling  is  concerned.  The  course  out- 
lined shows  that  attention  has  been  given  to  most  of  the  late 
investigations  in  this  field.  It  is  the  writer's  opinion  that 
spelling  could  be  dealt  with  much  less  formally  in  the 
seventh  and  eighth  grades,  though  in  this  some  difference  of 
opinion  exists.  The  work  in  language  and  literature  suggests 
plenty  to  do,  but  offers  altogether  too  little  help  as  to  how 
to  do  it.  It  also  stresses  the  formal  aspects  of  oral  and 
written  language.  Language  is  rarely  the  most  successful 
part  of  a  curriculum.  It  is  so  easy  to  talk  commas,  quota- 
tion marks,  capitals,  paragraph  form,  etc.,  that  we  often, 
understress  easy,  natural  expression.  An  expert  teacher 
could  follow  Boise's  outline  and  do  good  work,  but  an  in- 
experienced teacher  would  surely  teach  too  much  form. 

2.     The  Sciences 

Nature  study  is  taught  in  the  first  four  grades,  geography 
in  Grades  4  to  7B  inclusive,  physiology  and  hygiene  in  all 
grades,  and  general  science  in  Grade  8.    The  subjects  cover 


72  The  Boise  Survey 

the  usual  materials  and  in  the  order  followed  in  most  modem 
school  systems. 

In  the  early  grades  the  natural  phenomena  close  at  hand 
are  utilized  quite  effectively;  weather  observations  are  made 
and  recorded,  the  sun,  the  moon,  star  groups,  winds,  and 
storms  are  studied,  as  are  streams,  land  and  water  forms, 
and  the  plant  and  animal  life  of  the  community.  The  ma- 
terials and  exercises  outlined  for  nature-study  work  are 
especially  good.  Again,  however,  there  is  a  lack  of  helpful, 
stimulating  suggestions  to  teachers  as  to  how  best  to  utilize 
the  many  facts  and  observations  suggested.  The  geography 
material  outlined  is  available  in  any  good  text  on  the  sub- 
ject, and  aside  from  an  occasional  reference  to  local  situa- 
tions one  wonders  why  a  text  would  need  to  be  supplemented 
by  such  an  outline.  To  be  useful  it  should  suggest  the  use 
of  many  books,  maps,  pictures,  advertising  materials  put 
out  by  railroads  and  industrial  firms,  etc.,  which  are  not 
mentioned  in  the  text.  It  should  suggest  many  devices, 
plans  for  field  study,  home  observations,  etc.  It  is  that  sort 
of  material  that  supplements  and  enriches  the  ordinary  text- 
book. 

The  outline  for  physiology  and  hygiene  as  a  manual  of 
directions  is  wholly  inadequate.  Many  excellent  things  are 
suggested,  however,  as  will  be  shown  in  a  later  chapter,  and 
there  is  reason  to  think  that  the  work  in  the  schools  is  of  a 
good  grade.  Specially  noteworthy  is  the  work  suggested  for 
the  establishment  of  right  habits  of  living.  Clean  teeth, 
care  of  eyes,  and  ventilation  are  emphasized,  and  on  the 
social  side  equal  effort  is  made  to  teach  the  importance  of 
clean  streets,  proper  disposal  of  garbage,  safeguards  against 
epidemics,  etc.  Teachers  cannot  too  often  be  reminded 
that  the  principle  "learn  to  do  by  doing"  applies  nowhere 
more  fully  than  in  the  teaching  of  hygiene  and  civics,  two 
subjects  intimately  related  at  many  points.  Bacteriology 
is  a  large  word  for  small  children,  but  no  study  offers  a  more 
satisfactory  source  for  hygiene  material  that  is  wonderful 
and  also  practical  in  its  bearing  upon  health. 


The  Curriculum  73 

3,    Manual  Training  and  Domestic  Science 

Manual  training  and  domestic  science  are  taught  in 
Grades  5  to  8B  inclusive.  The  outlines  for  this  work  are 
very  inadequate.  In  fact,  they  meet  practically  none  of 
the  standards  we  have  set  above  for  printed  courses  of  study. 
A  bare  topical  outline  is  of  use,  but  it  is  not  enough.  These 
subjects  are  of  the  very  greatest  importance  in  the  ele- 
mentary training  of  children  and,  being  new,  they  should  be 
fully  outlined  and  every  possible  help  given  for  their  hand- 
ling in  the  classroom. 


4,    History  and  Civics 

History  and  civics  are  taught  in  all  grades  except  7A. 
The  work  is  very  informal  and  incidental  in  the  first  years: 
the  celebration  of  holidays,  stories  and  poems  of  primitive 
life  in  America,  stories  of  heroes  of  ancient  times,  and  myths 
and  legends  touching  all  civilizations  the  world  over.  Grade 
6B  emphasizes  Greek  and  Roman  history  and  6A  the  coming 
of  European  peoples  to  America.  Grades  7B  and  8  are  de- 
voted to  American  history  and  civics.  The  course  as  out- 
lined has  much  to  commend  it.  While  the  outlines  are  not 
equally  well  developed  for  the  different  grades,  it  is  clear  that 
the  aim  of  history  teaching  in  Boise  is  to  give  the  child  a 
sense  of  the  past  and  how  that  past  has  gradually  built  up 
the  present.  The  pupil  will  see  the  peoples  at  work  in  their 
homes,  occupations,  schools,  and  churches,  as  well  as  at  war, 
and  will  know  something  of  local  history,  which  is  properly 
emphasized.  Many  of  our  best  schools  are  utilizing  the 
present  industrial  life  to  a  larger  extent  in  the  beginning 
years  than  is  done  at  Boise,  and  that  is  the  writer's  prefer- 
ence. The  course  as  outlined,  however,  is  commendable. 
The  work  in  civics  is  also  well  planned.  The  formal  aspects 
stand  out  rather  clearly,  but  suggestions  for  their  proper  use 
by  teachers  make  the  course  a  good  training  for  citizenship. 


74  The  Boise  Survey 

5.    Mathematics 

Arithmetic  is  taught  in  Grades  2  to  8B  inclusive,  and 
algebra  in  the  final  half  year.  In  Grade  i,  number  is  studied 
incidentally,  the  aim  being  to  give  the  child  some  familiarity 
with  actual  number  situations  and  gradually  to  develop  a 
number  vocabulary.  Later  in  the  year  the  pupils  develop 
some  familiarity  with  the  use  of  the  written  symbols,  the 
meaning  of  which  they  have  learned  by  experience.  In 
Grade  2,  arithmetic  becomes  a  formal  subject  and  systematic 
training  is  provided.  The  work  outlined  for  this  grade  is 
excellent.  There  seems  to  be  little  barren  memory  grind  and 
much  actual  number  experience.  The  amount  of  work  to  be 
accomplished  is  definite,  and  the  outline  offers  helpful  sug- 
gestions for  handling  it.  Grade  3  continues  the  use 
of  number  experience,  with  larger  emphasis  upon  abstract 
number  work.  The  aim  is  complete  mastery  of  all  addition, 
subtraction,  multiplication,  and  division  combinations 
through  the  table  of  8^s,  reading  and  writing  numbers  of 
four  places,  and  familiarity  with  certain  arithmetical  terms. 
Similar  clearly  stated  aims  are  set  forth  for  the  following 
grades,  and  many  excellent  suggestions  are  made  for  carry- 
ing on  the  work.  From  the  start  constant  use  is  made  of 
standardized  tests. 

The  work  in  algebra  follows  a  text  and  aims  merely  to 
introduce  the  class  to  the  simple  fundamentals.  For  pupils 
who  go  on  to  high  school  and  college  the  work  may  be  useful. 
For  those  who  do  not,  the  time  could  be  used  to  better  ad- 
vantage if  it  were  devoted  to  a  study  of  business  arithmetic, 
business  forms,  keeping  accounts,  short  methods  for  com- 
puting interest,  etc.  Very  few  people  use  algebra,  but  nearly 
every  one  must  become  familiar  with  the  simple  forms  of 
business  practice. 

6,    Music  and  Art 

Music  and  art  are  taught  throughout  the  entire  eight 
years  and  are  given  a  fair  proportion  of  time.    The  courses 


The  Curriculum  75 

in  music  are  very  fully  outlined,  and  ample  suggestions  for 
directing  work  are  given.  The  plan  of  work  is  well  in  accord 
with  the  plans  in  use  in  our  better  school  systems.  The  art 
work  is  similarly  well  planned,  and  the  applied  work  of  the 
upper  grades  is  especially  well  worked  out.  The  suggestions 
to  teachers  are  not  adequate,  with  the  present  limited  amount 
of  supervision. 

7.    Physical  Training 

The  work  m  physical  training  is  given  to  all  pupils 
through  the  entire  eight  years.  While  it  is  well  planned,  not 
so  much  can  be  said  for  what  is  actually  accomplished  in  the 
schools.  Supervised  play  should  have  more  attention  in  all 
the  schools,  as  should  positive  drills,  callisthenics,  and 
apparatus  exercises.  Much  need  exists  for  real  supervision 
of  this  work. 

TIME   ALLOTMENT,   OR  THE  RELATIVE  IMPORTANCE 
OF   STUDIES 

There  are  two  other  angles  from  which  we  wish  to  view 
Boise^s  curriculum.  First,  from  the  standpoint  of  the  time 
devoted  to  the  various  studies,  and  second  (in  the  following 
chapter),  from  the  standpoint  of  what  is  going  on  in  the 
classrooms  and  the  results  being  obtained. 

In  many  of  the  recent  school  surveys  careful  study  has 
been  made  of  time  allotment,  and  the  results  reported  are  of 
interest  in  showing  the  consensus  of  opinion  over  the  coun- 
try, touching  this  question.  Table  18  shows  the  largest,  the 
average,  and  the  smallest  amounts  of  time  respectively  de- 
voted to  the  various  classes  of  the  upper  half  grades  in 
Boise. 

The  wide  variability  in  allotments  as  shown  in  this  table 
is  very  striking.  One  first-grade  class  in  reading  devotes  900 
minutes  per  week  to  the  subject,  while  another  class,  sup- 
posed to  do  exactly  the  same  work,  reported  but  300  min- 
utes per  week.  Similar  differences  will  be  found  all  through 
the  table. 


76 


The  Boise  Survey 


The  Curriculum 


77 


It  is,  of  course,  desirable  that  there  should  be  variation. 
No  one  allotment  would  suit  the  needs  of  all  schools  and 
classes,  but  the  extent  of  difference  shown  by  this  table 
raises  a  question  which  Boise's  teachers  and  supervisors 
must  try  to  answer.  These  differences  are  brought  out  even 
more  clearly  in  Table  19,  which  shows  the  number  of  min- 
utes per  week  devoted  to  the  subject  of  spelling  by  each 
teacher  of  the  subject  in  each  of  the  grades  in  Boise.  For 
comparative  purposes  as  well  as  in  fairness  to  Boise,  similar 
data  for  the  schools  of  Oakland  and  Salt  Lake  City  are  in- 
cluded in  this  table.  From  these  figures  we  read  that  i 
second-grade  teacher  in  Boise  devotes  200  minutes  per  week, 
4  devote  150  minutes  per  week,  i  devotes  no,  5  devote  100, 
etc.,  to  spelling.  A  mere  glance  at  this  table  brings  to  light 
a  problem  which  school  people  must  face.  We  want  elas- 
ticity in  the  management  of  children,  but  there  can  be  no 
justification  for  the  wide  differences  shown  in  these  tables. 

Using  the  average  time  allotment  in  each  subject  as  a 
basis.  Figure  12  shows  approximately  how  the  entire  eight 
years'  time  of  the  elementary  school  pupil  in  Boise  is  di- 
vided up  if  he  takes  all  the  subjects  offered. 


PERCENT     ^ 

READING 

n.2 

PHONICS 

25 

WRITING 

47 

SPCLLINd 

5  9 

UJN6Ufi6E  AND  GRaf1MffPI2.7 

aRITHMETIC 

15.3 

ateiBM 

3.0 

HISTORY  auoasics 

3.0 

6E06R(JPHY 

4.7 

PHYSIOLOevahD  HYGIENE  3  2 

NATURE  STUDY 

i.e 

SENERdL  SCIENCE 

23 

DOMESTIC  SCIENCE 

1.8 

MfiNUflL  TRfllNINd 

1,7 

MUSIC 

4J 

ORT 

4.B 

PHYSICAL  EDUCATION 

3.1 

Fig.  12.    Allotment  of  Time  among  the  Various  Subjects  of  the  Ele- 
mentary School  Curriculum 


From  this  it  will  be  seen  that  the  three  R's  still  dominate 
the  schools.    In  Figure  ii,  history  and  civics,  physiology 


TABLE  19.  Showing  Distribution  of  All  Classes  in  Spelling  in 
Oakland,  Salt  Lake  City,  and  Boise,  with  Respect  to  the  Grade 
AND  the  Amount  of  Time  Spent  on  the  Subject  * 


Oakland 

Salt  Lake  City 

BOISE 

Minutes 

Grade 

Grade 

Grade 

2 

3 

4 

5   6 

7 

3 

2 

4 
3 

2 

3 

4 

2 

2 

I 

8 

2 

I 

3 
7 

1 
I 

3 

I 
2 

2 
2 

X 

I 

•• 
6 

2 

I 
19 

II 

16 

2 

X 

I 

3 

7 
I 

6 

7 

I 

4 

2 

I 

I 
4 
22 

II 

I 

2 

17 
3 

2 

5 

12 

I 
10 

2 

I 
19 

X 
X 

6 

X 

■* 
'8 

; 

I 
7 

8 

I 

2 
17 

2 

X 

4 

7 

X 

I 

I 
7 

8 

I 

19 

I 

I 
7 

2 

8 

I 

X 

2 

I 

5 

I 

9 

I 
I 

7 

I 
I 

2 

I 

4 

4 

I 

5 

I 
I 

3 

I 
I 

4 
9 

5 

X 

X 

X 

2 

2 
2 

X 
3 

X 

I 
2 

6 

3 

'6 

I 

a 

2 

7 

X 

3 
3 

s 

I 

8 

225  and  up 
220  ..  . 
21S  .  .  . 
210  ..  . 

20s  ..  . 

•• 

'• 

•• 

•• 

X 
X 

3 

I 

2 
4 

2 
2 
2 

6 

2 

2 

'8 

I 
2 

4 

I 
I 

I 

X 

2 

X 

X 

2 
12 

I 
X 

X 
2 

II 

7 

3 
2 

I 
I 

•• 

195  ..  . 
IQO  .  .  . 

185  ..  . 
x8o 

:: 

•• 

175  ..  . 
170  ..  . 

i6s  .  .  . 
160  ..  . 

X 
X 

•' 

ISO  .  .  . 

145  ..  . 
140  ..  . 
135  ..  . 
130  ..  . 

I2S  .  .  . 
120  ..  . 
115  ..  . 
no  .  .  . 

los  .  .  . 
100  .  .  . 

5 

3 

4 

a 

S 

9 

X 

6 
5 
2 

2 

X 
IX 

z 

90  .  .  . 

11::: 

75  .  .  . 
70  .  .  . 

S!  •  •  • 
60  .  .  . 

55  .  .  . 
SO  .  .  . 

45  .  .  . 
40  .  .  . 
35  .  .  . 
30  .  .  . 

as  .  .  . 
ao  .  .  . 
IS  .  .  . 
xo  .  .  . 

2 

I 

"s 

4 

X 

X 

3 
3 

X 

3 

I 
a 

X 

"a 

»  DaU  from  Sears,  "Time  Allotment  in  the  Schools  oC  Salt  Lake  City,"  Edueatumal  Admin' 
istration  and  Supervision,  March,  191 6. 

78 


The  Curriculum 


79 


and  hygiene,  music,  art,  and  physical  training  seem  to  have 
a  prominent  place  in  the  schools.  Figure  12  gives  these 
facts  a  much  fuller  statement,  with  the  result  that  the 
newer  subjects  tend  to  dwindle  in  importance. 

Table  20  shows  the  length  of  the  various  courses  in  the 
Boise  schools  in  comparison  with  similar  facts  for  other 
cities. 

TABLE  20 

Showing  the  Total  Number  of  Hours  Devoted  to  the  Different 
Subjects  in  Boise  as  Compared  with  Other  Cities 


Subject 


Reading     

Language-Grammar 

Spelling 

Writing 

Phonics 

Arithmetic     .   .   .   . 

Algebra 

History-Civics  .  .  . 
Geography  .  .  .  . 
Physiology-Hygiene 
Nature  Study  .  .  . 
Domestic  Science  . 
Manual  Training .  . 
General  Science    .   . 

Music 

Art 

Physical  Education  . 


BOISE 


1337 
990 

436 
369 
169 
1189 
234 
676 

369 

247 

122 

126 1 

134/ 

183 

336 

376 

396 


Cleveland 


1710 
847 
444 
419 

1065 

290 

493 
116 


330 


413 
416 

345 


50  Cities  2 


1280 
864 
482 


1008 

496 
539 
331 

427 


403 

460 
322 


1  Franklin-Bobbett,  Cleveland  Survey  Report,  What  the  Schools  Teach  and  Might  Teach. 
The  Survey  Committee  of  the  Cleveland  Foundation,  Cleveland,  Ohio. 

2  Henry  W.  Holmes," Time  Distribution  by  Subjects  and  Grades  in  Representative  Cities," 
in  the  Fourteenth  Year  Book  of  the  National  Society  for  the  Study  of  Education,  Part  I,  igiS- 
University  of  Chicago  Press. 

In  comparison  with  Cleveland  and  with  the  average  for  a 
group  of  50  representative  cities,  Boise's  distribution  shows 
entirely  too  large  emphasis  upon  the  group  of  English  sub- 
jects.   Boise  devotes  4601  hours,  Cleveland  3420  hours,  and 


8o  The  Boise  Survey 

the  so  cities  an  average  of  3014  hours  to  the  teaching  of 
English.  It  is  the  opinion  of  many  that  the  lowest  of  these 
figures  is  too  high.  In  any  case,  Boise's  allotment  needs  re- 
vision. It  is  now  more  than  one  third  higher  than  an  allot- 
ment that  is  fairly  acceptable  over  the  country.  Similarly, 
Boise's  emphasis  upon  mathematics  is  too  great,  while 
geography,  domestic  science,  manual  training  and  music 
receive  too  little  attention.  Especially  commendable,  how- 
ever, is  the  relatively  large  amount  of  time  which  the  Boise 
schools  are  devoting  to  history  and  civics. 

SUMMARY  AND  RECOMMENDATIONS 

Boise  has  ample  legal  power  to  develop  the  kind  of  curric- 
ulum best  suited  to  the  needs  of  the  city.  The  social,  in- 
dustrial, and  political  life  of  the  city,  with  its  legislative 
halls,  courts,  libraries,  parks,  and  wide  variety  of  industrial 
and  commercial  life,  offers  the  best  of  opportunities  for  con- 
necting the  work  of  the  schools  with  the  life  of  the  com- 
munity. 

This  chapter  has  tried  to  state  in  brief  form  what  are  the 
modern  requirements  of  a  good  curriculum,  that  is,  what  is 
good  subject  matter  for  school  use.  In  so  doing,  it  has 
pointed  with  emphasis  to  the  urgent  demand  for  the  kind  of 
facts,  principles,  and  experiences  that  will  help  the  child  to 
an  understanding  and  an  appreciation  of  life  about  him. 
The  demand  is  for  less  of  the  memoriter,  bookish  training 
and  for  more  in  the  form  of  actual  participation  in  the 
essential  social,  civic,  and  economic  processes. 

In  breadth  the  curriculum  of  Boise's  schools  is  typical  of 
what  is  to  be  found  in  most  cities  of  that  size.  In  intensity 
it  lays  relatively  too  great  emphasis  upon  the  traditional 
formal  studies  and  too  little  upon  the  newer  studies.  Arith- 
metic, spelling,  and  other  work  in  English  should  be  materi- 
ally reduced,  to  the  end  that  geography,  manual  training, 
domestic  science,  nature  study,  art  and  music  may  receive 
greater  emphasis. 


The  Curriculum  8i 

The  whole  curriculum,  as  judged  by  the  mimeographed 
outlines,  would  profit  if  teachers,  principals,  and  supervisors 
would  unite  in  a  thoroughgoing  study  and  revision  of  each 
course,  having  in  mind  the  principles  set  forth  at  the  be- 
ginning of  this  chapter.  The  outlines  of  work  in  nature 
study,  geography,  physiology  and  hygiene,  and  general  sci- 
ence do  not  give  one  the  impression  that  these  courses  are 
properly  coordinated  with  each  other,  and  to  some  degree 
the  same  can  be  said  of  the  work  in  English.  While  obser- 
vation of  classes  at  work  gave  the  staff  the  impression  that 
the  outlines  of  courses  are  being  properly  supplemented  by 
individual  teachers,  yet  such  responsibility  should  not  be 
left  too  fully  to  teachers.  A  printed  course  that  is  worth 
making  is  worth  making  well. 

This  chapter  has  tried  to  indicate  what  a  printed  course 
of  study  should  contain  and  has  shown  that  many  of  Boise's 
outlines  do  not  meet  such  standards. 

Finally,  if  Boise  wishes  to  add  a  few  subjects  to  the  usual 
offering  of  the  elementary  schools,  we  recommend  that  the 
algebra  now  taught  become  merely  a  part  of  8th  grade 
arithmetic,  and  that  in  its  place  such  applied  studies  as 
simple  bookkeeping,  tool  work,  mechanical  drawing,  further 
work  in  cooking,  sewing  and  home  decoration,  and  business 
arithmetic  be  offered.  We  recommend  also  that  early  steps 
be  taken  to  establish  an  intermediate  or  a  junior  high  school, 
consistmg  of  Grades  7,  8,  and  9,  and  that  large  place  be 
provided  in  its  curriculum  for  such  courses  as  those  just 
suggested,  to  the  end  that  many  of  Boise's  children  may 
have  as  good  training  for  lije  as  the  "few"  now  have  for 
higher  study. 


CHAPTER  V 

EFFICIENCY   OF   THE   INSTRUCTION 

{The  Staff) 

GENERAL   CONSIDERATIONS 

A  CURRICULUM  is,  after  all,  only  as  good  as  it  is 
made  in  the  actual  classroom.  To  make  effective  any 
plan  of  instruction  whatever  requires  good  teachers,  good 
supervision,  good  buildings,  and  good  facilities  for  work. 
A  careful  estimate  of  the  efficiency  of  Boise's  buildings  is 
presented  in  Chapter  IX,  from  which  it  will  be  seen  that 
much  yet  remains  to  be  done  before  Boise  will  have  adequate 
school  buildings. 

The  question  of  supervision  has  been  dealt  with  from 
the  standpoint  of  administration,  in  Chapter  II.  It  remains 
here  to  add  that  one  of  the  most  obvious  weaknesses  in  the 
instruction  as  observed  by  the  survey  staff  is  clearly  trace- 
able to  lack  of  supervision.  As  it  now  stands,  the  supervisor 
can  do  little  more  in  many  cases  than  work  out  plans  and 
leave  orders  that  things  be  done  "thus  and  so."  So  far  as 
the  present  supervision  goes  it  is  useful,  but  the  actual  in- 
struction and  the  general  management  of  the  schools  would 
greatly  profit  if  a  plan  of  supervising  principalships  such  as 
has  been  suggested  above  were  put  into  operation. 

The  teaching  staff  in  Boise  has  been  described  in  Chapter 
III.  There  it  was  pointed  out  that  Boise's  elementary 
schools  are  decidedly  understaffed,  that  the  staff  shows  an 
increasing  tendency  to  change  from  year  to  year,  and  that 
the  average  age  and  experience  of  teachers  are  high.  Yet  in 
extent  and  character  of  training  and  in  attendance  at  sum- 
mer schools,  as  well  as  in  the  general  cosmopolitan  make-up 
of  the  group,  Boise's  staff  is  up  to  the  average.  The  addi- 
tions needed  —  perhaps  ten  to  fifteen  teachers  and  princi- 

8a 


Efficiency  of  the  Instruction  83 

pals  —  to  bring  the  teaching  force  up  to  the  best  standards 
would  undoubtedly  bring  about  substantial  improvements  of 
the  work  in  every  way. 

As  to  teaching  equipment,  the  schools  vary  somewhat. 
There  are  many  good  blackboards,  though  they  are  very 
often  wrongly  placed.  The  desks  are  in  the  main  not  up  to 
standard,  and  the  general  appearance  of  rooms  is  on  the 
whole  not  above  average.  In  some  schools  there  seemed  to 
be  a  dearth  of  supplementary  books  in  classrooms,  though 
there  were  some  maps,  pictures,  charts,  and  like  equipment 
in  evidence,  and  little  of  it  seemed  to  be  of  the  dust-covered 
variety.  Nowhere,  however,  did  any  member  of  the  staff 
get  the  impression  that  teachers  and  school  officers  had 
more  than  a  minimum  amount  of  the  necessary  materials  for 
carrying  on  the  work  of  instruction.  This  condition  was 
sufficiently  marked  and  the  fact  of  sufficient  importance  to 
warrant  mention  in  this  connection. 


OBSERVATIONS   OF   CLASSROOM   WORK 

Many  visits,  of  varying  length,  were  made  to  classrooms, 
and  some  attempt  was  made  to  use  a  common  set  of  stand- 
ards for  observing  the  work.  It  is  not  possible  to  present 
the  results  of  such  observations  in  a  manner  that  will  make 
them  comparable  with  similar  facts  in  other  cities.  For 
that  reason  it  seemed  wiser  to  base  criticisms  upon  the  re- 
sults obtained  from  standard  tests,  which  reveal  far  more 
effectively  the  present  efficiency  of  classroom  work.  Such 
observations  as  were  made,  however,  were  discussed  by  the 
members  of  the  staff,  and  their  results  can  be  stated  briefly 
here  for  what  they  may  be  worth. 

No  member  of  the  staff  reported  having  observed  work 
of  a  strikingly  superior  quality.  Thinking  of  the  work  as 
"poor,"  "fair,"  "good,"  "very  good,"  and  "superior,"  it  is 
possible  to  say  that  some  "poor"  and  much  "fair"  and 
"good"  work  was  observed,  while  a  few  cases  of  "very 
good"  work  were  found.     Some  teachers  were  obviously 


84  The  Boise  Survey 

disturbed  by  our  visits,  some  were  not  well  prepared  on  the 
lesson,  some  talked  too  much  or  quizzed  too  much,  etc.  On 
the  other  hand,  some  "very  good"  instruction  in  art  and 
arithmetic  was  observed,  where  the  teacher  in  charge  had 
an  excellent  grasp  of  the  work,  was  reserved  but  critical, 
and  where  the  children  showed  initiative  and  worked  to  a 
well-understood  purpose.  Good  supervision  would  overcome 
many  of  the  defects  observed  in  classrooms. 

STANDARDIZED  TESTS 

The  place  of  standardized  tests  in  present-day  school  ad- 
ministration is  so  well  understood  that  little  need  be  said 
in  explanation  of  their  character  or  function  in  a  school 
survey.  In  the  measure  of  educational  products,  standardized 
tests  are  rapidly  coming  to  serve  a  purpose  similar  to  that 
of  the  "pound,"  "yard,"  and  "pint"  in  the  commercial  world. 

In  this  survey  three  subjects  were  chosen  for  such  meas- 
urement: viz.,  writing,  arithmetic,  and  spelling.  The  results 
revealed  are  believed  to  be  fully  representative  of  the  work 
being  done  in  all  the  branches  of  study.  The  scales  used 
have  been  thoroughly  standardized  and  used  so  widely  as  to 
make  it  possible  to  compare  Boise's  showing  with  that  made 
by  large  numbers  of  school  systems  over  the  country. 

The  tests  in  handwriting  show  that  the  work  being  accom- 
plished in  the  different  grades  is  quite  uneven  both  as  to 
quality  and  speed.  In  quality  the  city  ranks  below  stand- 
ard, while  in  speed  it  is  slightly  above  standard.  The  wide 
variety  of  results  shown  by  different  classes,  different  grades, 
and  different  schools  is  tiie  strongest  evidence  that  super- 
vision of  this  subject  is  weak.  There  are  no  sufficiently 
marked  social  differences  among  the  pupils  of  the  city  to 
explain  the  differences  shown  in  these  test  results. 

The  tests  in  spelling  brought  out  the  same  abundance  of 
unevenness  in  results.  One  school  spells  with  an  efficiency 
of  90  per  cent,  while  another  drops  to  70  per  cent.  Grade 
3  in  the  Central  School  makes  a  score  of  63,  while  the  same 


Efficiency  of  the  Instruction  85 

grade  in  Whittier  School  makes  98.  More  than  5  per  cent  of 
all  the  children  made  scores  below  40,  while  23  per  cent 
made  the  score  of  100.  This  is  evidence  of  a  lack  of  real 
organization  and  supervision.  It  is  true  that  the  city  as  a 
whole  ranks  high  in  spelling.  Account  must  be  taken  of 
the  time  cost  of  these  results.  Reference  to  Table  19  shows 
that  even  such  good  results  are  not  worth  the  cost,  for  it 
has  robbed  more  important  studies  of  much-needed  time. 

In  the  arithmetic  tests  Boise  shows  good  average  results 
in  the  use  of  whole  numbers  but  serious  weakness  in  the 
handling  of  fractions.  There  are  also  the  same  marked  dif- 
ferences between  schools  and  between  classes  as  were  found 
in  writing  and  spelling,  which  points  clearly  to  the  need  for 
a  more  thorough  coordination  of  the  work  in  this  subject 
and  to  the  genuine  need  for  ungraded  classes. 

The  following  sections  of  this  chapter  will  show  the  de- 
tailed results  of  the  tests  in  these  subjects. 


THE  TEST  IN  HANDWRITING 

J.    How  the  Tests  Were  Made 

On  Monday,  May  26,  each  teacher  in  Grades  4  to  8 
inclusive  was  sent  the  following  instructions: 

Please  write  the  following  sentences  on  the  blackboard: 

Four  score  and  seven  years  ago  our  fathers  brought  forth  upon  this 
continent  a  new  nation,  conceived  in  liberty  and  dedicated  to  the  propo- 
sition that  all  men  are  created  equal.  Today  we  are  engaged  in  a  great 
civil  war  testing  whether  that  nation  or  any  nation  so  conceived  and  so 
dedicated  can  long  endure. 

We  are  met  on  a  great  battlefield  of  that  war. 

Have  the  pupils  copy  this  until  they  are  familiar  with  it.  They  should 
then  copy  it,  beginning  at  a  given  signal,  and  write  for  exactly  two 
minutes.  Have  them  all  stop  at  once,  and  count  the  words  they  have 
written. 


86 


The  Boise  Survey 


Use  ruled  examination  paper.  Have  pupils  write  with  pen  and  ink. 
Do  not  encourage  children  to  use  any  particular  form  or  movement. 
Let  them  write  in  their  own  way,  and  at  the  ordinary  speed  with  which 
they  would  write  a  letter.  Any  attempt  on  the  part  of  a  teacher  to  have 
them  do  otherwise  may  result  in  a  lower  score  than  would  be  obtained 
under  natural  conditions. 

On  the  same  evening  1408  papers  were  returned  to  the 
survey  office,  representing  all  pupils  in  attendance  that  day 
in  Grades  4,  5,  6,  7,  and  8.  There  were  evidences  that  the 
teachers  cooperated  to  a  high  degree  in  the  securing  of  uni- 
form data.  The  samples  obtained  are  probably  as  repre- 
sentative of  the  normal  handwriting  of  the  Boise  school 
children  as  can  be  secured.  The  factor  of  keeping  time  for 
the  test  leaves  open  an  opportunity  for  irregularities,  but  it 
is  believed  that  if  there  were  any  departures  from  the 
correct  procedure  they  were  of  no  serious  consequence.  Most 
of  the  teachers  have  had  experience  in  the  giving  of  hand- 
writing tests,  and,  in  fact,  in  using  the  same  form  of  the 
Ayres  Scale  upon  which  the  scores  for  this  study  were  based. 


TABLE  20  fl.    Distribution  of  Handwriting 


Grade  4 

Grades 

Score 

I 

-% 

e 
1 

1 

.a 

j 

1 

1 

^ 

'2 

< 

I 

c5 

2 

^ 

- 

j 

1 

t 

1 

.g 

a 

^ 

xoo 

£::::; 
S::::: 

•  • 

3 
13 
14 
6 
7 
I 

4 
14 
10 

3 

I 
9 
II 
21 
6 
3 

12 

I 
0 
10 

8 
2 

I 
13 

i 

SI 

4 

2 
8 
17 
7 
3 

3 
4 
14 
II 
S 

I 
3 

s 

4 
3 

6 
9 
9 

I 

.1 

31 
9 
3 

I 

6 
IS 

7 
3 

I 

s 

14 

18 
6 
3 

4 
9 
13 
II 

;; 

I 

2 

II 

9 

2 
2 

4 

so 

40 

30  ....  '. 

20 

10 

8 

7 

14 

I 

7 
10 
10 

3 

I 
4 
10 

8 

1 

10 
7 

78 

no 
S6 
22 

Total  .... 

31 

30 

23 

26 

44 

31 

SO 

3S 

30 

300 

37 

36 
4a 

IS 
41 

24 
44 

S3 
47 

Sa 
45 

47 
48 

40 
65 

27 
50 

3" 

Medians.  .  . 

38 

43 

34 

35 

46 

4a 

38 

51 

45 

41 

47 

48 

Norm  .... 

46 

46 

46 

46 

46 

46 

46 

46 

46 

46 

SO 

SO 

SO 

SO 

SO 

SO 

50 

50 

so 

so 

Efficiency  of  the  Instruction 


87 


2.    Scoring  the  Papers 

The  procedure  in  scoring  was  that  described  by  Dr. 
Ayres  in  the  directions  accompanying  the  "Gettysburg  Edi- 
tion" of  his  measuring  scale  for  handwriting.  This  scale 
consists  of  a  series  of  handwriting  samples  which  have  been 
selected  upon  the  basis  of  relative  quality  value,  from  sam- 
ples obtained  from  tests  given  to  several  thousand  school 
children.  The  steps  in  the  scale  are  statistically  evaluated 
and  specimens  grading  20,  30,  40,  50,  60,  70,  80,  and  90 
are  reproduced  on  the  score  sheet  for  comparative  purposes. 

Each  of  the  1408  papers  from  the  Boise  schools  was  com- 
pared with  the  samples  on  the  Ayres  Scale  and  was  given  a 
grade  corresponding  to  that  of  the  sample  which  it  most 
nearly  resembled  in  quality.  After  the  papers  for  each 
room  were  graded,  they  were  rechecked  and  arranged  in 
order  of  score.  Following  this,  the  number  of  whole  letters 
written  on  each  paper  was  recorded.  Since  the  papers  rep- 
resented two  minutes  of  writing,  the  number  of  letters  di- 


Scores 

or 

QUALIXY 

BY  Grades  and  Schools 

Grade  6 

Grade  7 

Grade  8 

1 

i 

1 

i 

1 

1 

I 

1 
1 

1 

1 

1 

0 

} 

a 

1 

•< 

1 
1 

1 

1 

1 

1 

< 

I 

I 

7 

XI 

8 

•i 

I 
6 
8 
13 
4 

I 

II 
12 
9 
4 

I 
2 
8 

7 

2 

I 
2 
9 
22 
18 
4 

2 
7 

10 
12 

5 

I 

I 
2 

8 
10 

2 

2 

5 
14 
40 

Vr 

31 

4 

2 

13 
IS 

30 
'I 

"3 

i 

7 

I 

I 
3 
6 

28 
30 
14 

1 
2 

10 

14 

7 

3 

I 

I 
3 
3 
13 
26 
13 
4 

2 
12 
27 

74 

107 

54 

13 

5 
11 
23 
23 
14 

I 

3 
6 

7 
6 

5 

I 

4 

5 

15 

17 

13 

2 

I 
I 
2 

9 

13 

4 

4 
12 
19 

13 

I 

z 

\i 

66 
78 
49 

s 

28 

32 

32 

37 

20 

S6 

37 

25 

267 

8s 

22 

82 

38 

63 

290 

77 

28 

56 

30 

49 

240 

45 

52 

40 

43 

51 

53 

60 

59 

52 

57 

65 

59 

57 

54 

57 

60 

63 

54 

59 

56 

58 

54 

54 

54 

54 

54 

54 

54 

54 

54 

58 

58 

58 

58 

58 

58 

62 

62 

62 

62 

62 

62 

88 


The  Boise  Survey 

TABLE  21.    Distribution  of  Handwriting  Scores  of 


Grade  4 

Grade  5 

No.  of  Letters 
per  Minute 

1 

a 
c5 

1 

1 

J 

1 
3 

t 

f 

'.4 

1 

< 

a 
6 

2 

^ 

1 

3 

■if 

^ 

s 

^ 

no  and  Over. 
100-109  .   ,    . 

in?  ::; 

70-79    .  .  • 
60-69    .  .  . 
50-59    .  .  • 
40-49    •  •  • 
30-39    .  •  • 
20-29    .  .  . 

2 

I 
3 

10 
6 
8 
I 

I 

I 
II 

5 
10 

2 

I 

2 

9 

3 
5 
3 

7 
7 
7 
4 
I 

2 

I 
6 
12 
II 

3 
7 

I 
I 

I 
2 

5 

4 
I 

3 

3 
5 

II 
7 

10 
8 
2 
I 

10 
II 

3 
2 
2 
9 
6 
4 
3 

6 

5 
14 

i 

48 

13 

2 

2 

7 
10 
13 

5 

3 

1 

2 

7 

16 

4 

I 
I 
I 

I 
I 
9 
7 
3 
2 

2 
3 
5 
7 
11 
15 
5 
5 

I 
2 
10 
8 
5 
I 

J 

I 

6 
10 
10 

7 
II 

2 

2 

5 

4 

II 

13 

4 
2 

5 

7 

15 

5 

13 
40 

6S 
72 
45 
52 
10 

3 

Total  No.  .   . 

31 
60 

30 
S3 

23 

57 

26 
61 

44 
68 

31 
80 

50 
64 

35 
63 

30 
70 

300 

66 

37 
70 

36 
73 

IS 
~65 

24 
60 

53 
70 

32 
73 

47 
~6^ 

40 
52 

27 
48 

311 

Medians     .    . 

68 

Ayres  Norms 

55 

55 

55 

55 

55 

55 

55 

55 

55 

55 

64 

64 

64 

64 

64 

64 

64 

64 

64 

64 

vided  by  2  was  recorded  as  the  rate  per  minute.  The  dis- 
tribution of  the  scores  for  quality  and  rate  are  shown  in 
Tables  20  a  and  21. 

J.    Boise  Ratings  in  Quality 

The  entire  distribution  of  scores,  by  schools  and  separate 
grades,  is  shown  in  Table  20  a.  Here  the  median  performance 
for  each  separate  grade  can  be  compared  with  the  median 
for  the  entire  city  and  the  general  norms.  The  wide  distribu- 
tion of  scores,  ranging  from  10  to  70  in  Grade  4,  20  to  80  in 
Grade  5,  etc.,  shows  how  important  it  is  that  we  recognize 
the  individual  differences  among  children.  Variations  in 
native  ability  are  clearly  shown  in  handwriting,  and  the  dis- 
tribution over  such  a  wide  range  as  we  find  here  is  equally 
characteristic  of  variability  in  all  the  traits  which  make  for 
school  and  life  success. 

How  the  quality  of  handwriting  in  Boise,  grade  for  grade, 
compares  with  the  norms  obtained  by  Dr.  Ayres  from  the 


Efficiency  of  the  Instruction 

Speed  (Rate  per  Minute)  by  Grades  and  Schools 


89 


Grade  6 

Grade  7 

Grade  8 

1 

2 

;§ 

1 

1 

.5 

1 
1 

1 

i 

1 

1 

0 

2 

1 

-a 

p2 

1 

3 

a 

1 

i 

^ 

i 

1 

<5 

4 
8 
10 
5 

I 

2 

I 
6 

I 

3 

6 
II 
3 

s 

I 
I 

II 

9 

3 

I 

2 

5 
3 

10 
9 

5 

21 

5 

4 

I 
I 

I 
5 
II 
■  4 
7 
7 
2 

3 
2 
6 
9 

4 

I 

24 
27 

62 

53 

ti 

14 
3 

I 

35 
27 
10 

4 
3 
6 
6 
I 
I 
I 

2 
2 

6 

25 

28 

14 

3 

I 

I 

6 
9 
10 
9 
3 
I 

9 

17 
18 
4 

^? 

40 
92 
77 
30 
4 

I 

21 
18 

8 
17 
II 

3 

2 

8 

10 

5 

IS 
7 

13 

14 

4 

2 

I 

12 

14 

? 

12 
6 

I 
I 

54 
37 

1 

3 

2 

28 

32 

32 

37 

20 

S6 

37 

25 

267 

85 

22 

82 

38 

63 

290 

77 

28 

56 

30 

49 

240 

8r 

73 

6S 

98 

91 

86 

66 

63 

82 

83 

95 

76 

96 

87 

83 

100 

88 

96 

78 

96 

82 

71 

71 

71 

71 

71 

71 

71 

71 

71 

76 

76 

76 

76 

76 

76 

79 

70 

79 

79 

79 

79 

scoring  of  62,000  samples  is  shown  in  Figure  13.  The  Boise 
ratings  fall  slightly  below  the  norms  in  all  grades,  the  great- 
est difference  being  5  points  (Grade  4).  The  deviation 
for  the  city  is  relatively  slight,  and  it  may  be  safely  inferred 
that  the  quality  of  the  handwriting  of  the  children  of  Boise, 
on  the  whole,  compares  favorably  with  that  of  the  children 
in  other  cities.  A  study  of  the  distribution  of  scores  should 
be  of  value  in  deciding  where  the  emphasis  should  be  placed 
in  order  that  the  handwriting  efficiency  for  the  city  may  be 
improved.  Pupils  in  Grade  4  who  score  no  higher  than  20 
points,  when  more  than  half  of  the  pupils  in  the  same  grade 
in  Boise  score  higher  than  40,  are  obviously  in  need  of 
special  attention. 

To  illustrate  the  variability  of  pupils  within  the  same 
grade,  a  series  of  samples  of  the  handwriting  of  Boise  pupils 
has  been  arranged  and  reproduced  in  Figure  14.  These 
have  been  selected  from  the  best  and  the  poorest  papers  in 
each  grade,  and  are  suggestive  of  what  would  happen  if 


90 


The  Boise  Survey 


erode     IV 

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1            VI 

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Fig.  13.    Median  Performance  of  Boise  Pupils  in  Handwriting  Quality, 
BY  Grades,  in  Comparison  with  Standard  Scores 

pupils  were  placed  in  school  grades  according  to  handwriting 
ability  alone.  It  is  obvious  that  in  such  an  event  some  of  the 
pupils  in  the  lower  grades  could  exchange  places  with  some 
of  those  who  will  soon  be  entering  high  school.  Fortunately, 
handwriting  achievement  is  not  fiie  sole  basis  of  promotion. 

4,    Boise  Ratings  in  Speed 

The  rate  of  handwriting  based  on  the  average  number  of 
letters  per  minute  is  shown  in  Table  21.    Here  again  we 


Efficiency  of  the  Instruction  91 


.J^^y^(o^Z^     -^/"Z^n:^^^^  y^^^V^cpV^  ^^^  C-^r^^i-^^^U-'^ 


Fig.  14.    Handwriting  Samples  Selected  from  Best  and  Poorest  Writ- 
ing IN  Each  Grade    (Grade  4  at  Bottom,  Grade  8  at  Top) 


92  The  Boise  Survey 

find  a  wide  scattering  of  scores,  suggestive  of  marked  in- 
dividual differences.  In  some  cases  the  speed  with  which 
different  pupils  in  the  same  classroom  write  is  such  that 
the  contrast  is  striking.  Of  300  pupils  in  the  fourth  grade, 
62  write  fewer  than  40  letters  per  minute,  while  52  write 
more  than  80  letters  per  minute,  or  more  than  twice  as 
rapidly.  This  difference  can  best  be  illustrated  by  quoting 
the  actual  passage  used  in  the  test,  showing  the  text  covered 
by  approximately  40  and  80  letters.  One  boy  in  the  fifth 
grade  wrote: 

Four  score  and  seven  years  ago  our  fathers  brought  (42  letters), 
while  another  boy  in  the  same  class  wrote: 

Four  score  and  seven  years  ago  our  fathers  brought  forth  upon  this 
continent  a  new  nation,  conceived  (83  letters), 

these  passages  representing  half  of  what  each  wrote  in  the 
two  minutes  of  the  test.  The  difference  may  seem  slight, 
when  applied  to  such  a  small  passage,  but  when  we  realize 
that  the  second  boy  can  do  twice  as  much  written  work  as 
the  first  boy  in  the  same  period  of  time,  we  cannot  help 
looking  at  it  in  the  light  of  its  educational  significance.  It 
is  interesting  to  note  that  the  papers  of  the  two  boys  re- 
ferred to  show  the  same  quality  ratings,  which  happen  to 
be  up  to  the  average  for  their  grade. 

On  the  whole,  the  children  of  Boise  write  more  rapidly 
than  the  children  of  other  cities,  as  judged  by  a  comparison 
of  the  median  performance,  grade  for  grade,  with  the  norms 
obtained  by  Dr.  A)a-es.  The  comparison  is  shown  in  Figure 
15.  The  rate  of  increase  in  Boise  is  less  regular  than  that 
shown  by  Dr.  Ayres*  curve,  and  it  appears  that  there  is  no 
appreciable  increase  in  speed  above  the  sixth  grade.  The 
difference  is  most  marked  between  the  fifth  and  sixth  grades, 
the  increase  being  approximately  20  per  cent  (82.68). 

5.    Relation  between  Quality  and  Speed 

A  study  of  the  speed  and  quality  of  Boise  handwriting 
samples  resulted  in  finding  a  positive  correlation  of  .23. 


Efficiency  of  the  Instruction 


93 


Fig.  15.    Median  Performance  of  Boise  Pupils  in  Handwriting  Rate, 
BY  Grades,  in  Comparison  with  Standard  Scores 

This  means  that,  on  the  whole,  the  pupils  who  write  well 
also  write  rapidly;  and,  inversely,  those  who  write  poorly 
also  write  slowly.  There  are  many  exceptions,  of  course, 
and  it  does  not  follow  that  any  pupil  who  improves  in  the  one 
respect  will  necessarily  in  the  other.  In  fact,  investigators 
find  that  causing  a  pupil  to  write  more  slowly  does  not  im- 
prove the  quality  of  his  writing.  Investigations  have  also 
shown  that  efforts  of  individuals  to  increase  their  speed  of 
writing  tends  to  make  them  write  a  poorer  quality. 


94  The  Boise  Survey 

6,     The  Teaching  of  Handwriting 

Both  the  quality  and  speed  of  handwriting  in  the  Boise 
schools  can  be  improved.  It  has  been  demonstrated  that 
individual  pupils,  grades,  schools,  and  entire  cities  can  make 
material  progress  in  both  of  these  directions  in  a  few  months. 
The  extent  of  the  improvement  can  be  determined  only  by 
the  application  of  a  standardized  scale  for  quality,  and  the 
keeping  of  accurate  records  as  to  speed.  This  can  be  easily 
done  by  the  teachers.  The  compilation  of  such  data  at  reg- 
ular intervals,  and  the  making  of  comparisons,  would  con- 
stitute a  valuable  cooperative  study  and  would  amount  to  a 
continuous  survey.  The  Ayres  Scale  is  already  used  by 
many  of  the  teachers  in  Boise,  and  in  some  cases  it  has  been 
admirably  adapted  to  classroom  instruction.  Competition 
among  classes  and  schools  based  on  the  scale  should  be  of 
value. 

The  mooted  question  as  to  the  relative  efficiency  of  dif- 
ferent systems  of  handwriting  has  not  yet  been  answered  by 
scientific  comparison.  It  can  only  be  settled,  if  at  all,  by 
impartial  gradings  on  a  imiform  basis.  It  is  not  unreason- 
able to  suppose  that  at  some  time  the  different  systems  may 
be  arranged  in  order  of  their  respective  merits.  AH  methods 
tend  to  develop  essential  points:  legibility y  uniformity,  gen- 
eral quality,  and  speed.  To  write  clearly,  evenly,  and  rap- 
idly, without  any  of  these  factors  detracting  from  the 
others,  should  be  the  aim  of  every  pupil.  Children  can  be 
taught  to  watch  their  progress  in  relation  to  that  of  the 
other  pupils  and  other  schools.  Teachers  should  watch  the 
progress  of  their  pupils,  and  each  should  aim  to  bring  her 
class  to  the  highest  possible  level  of  efficiency. 

THE  TEST  IN   SPELLING 

7.    Spelling  in  the  Course  of  Study 

Formal  instruction  in  spelling  begins  in  the  second  grade 
of  the  Boise  schools  and  continues  through  the  sixth  grade. 


Efficiency  of  the  Instruction  95 

In  the  seventh  and  eighth  grades  spelling  is  taught  as  a  part 
of  the  regular  work  in  English,  history,  geography,  etc. 
There  is  no  regular  spelling  textbook  used,  —  the  words 
employed  for  drill  being  selected  from  "Ayres'  Spelling  List, 
A  to  O,"  "The  One  Hundred  Spelling  Demons  of  the  English 
Language,"  and  books  used  as  texts  and  supplementary 
readers  in  the  various  grades.  The  course  of  study  does  not 
indicate  the  amount  of  time  per  week  that  it  would  be  profit- 
able for  each  grade  to  spend  on  spelling.  As  shown  in  Table 
19,  the  average  for  all  the  grades  is  no  minutes  per  week, 
which,  according  to  the  best  available  data,  is  fully  25  per 
cent  too  much. 


2,    The  Test  and  How  it  was  Applied 

In  measuring  the  efficiency  in  spelling  the  Ayres  "Measur- 
ing Scale  for  Ability  in  Spelling"  ^  was  employed.  Twenty 
words  from  list  "L"  were  given  to  all  the  pupils  in  the  third 
grades  of  the  Boise  schools;  the  same  number  of  words  from 
list  "O"  were  given  to  the  fourth,  from  list  "Q"  to  the  fifth, 
from  list  "S"  to  the  sixth,  from  list  "U"  to  the  seventh,  and 
a  set  of  twenty  words  compiled  from  lists  "V,"  "W,"  "X," 
"Y,"  and  "Z"  to  the  pupils  of  the  eighth  grades,  respectively. 

The  Ayres  spelling  scale  was  compiled  from  data  obtained 
through  the  application  of  spelling  tests  in  84  cities,  the 
words  of  these  tests  later  being  arranged  in  lists  and  scien- 
tifically grouped  according  to  difficulty.^  The  words  for  the 
Boise  survey  spelling  test  were  selected  from  lists  where  the 
average  score  of  the  grade  to  be  tested  was  found  to  be  73. 
For  example,  list  "L"  was  selected  as  the  list  from  which  the 
twenty  words  for  the  third  grade  would  be  taken,  because 
in  the  standardization  of  the  Ayres  Scale  the  average  score 
of  third-grade  children  was  found  to  be  73.  In  like  manner 
list  "O"  was  chosen  for  the  fourth  grade,  and  so  on  through 

*  Published  by  Russell  Sage  Foundation,  New  York,  N.  Y. 

*  For  explanation  of  the  scale  and  how  it  was  made,  see  Ayres  Measuring 
Scale  for  Ability  in  Spelling,  Russell  Sage  Foundation. 


96  The  Boise  Survey 

the  seventh.  The  words  for  the  eighth  grade  were  selected 
from  several  lists,  but  in  such  a  manner  as  to  bring  the 
expected  average  score  to  73  likewise. 

We  may  therefore  accept  73  as  the  standard  score  which 
each  grade  in  Boise  should  attain,  if  the  instruction  in  this 
subject  is  as  good  as  the  average  in  a  large  number  of  cities 
in  the  United  States.  As  a  matter  of  fact,  we  could  reason- 
ably expect  considerably  higher  scores  from  the  Boise  third 
and  fourth  grades,  because  lists  "A"  to  "O"  inclusive  have 
been  used  as  a  part  of  their  regular  course  of  study  in  spell- 
ing. 

These  selected  lists  of  words  were  pronounced  to  the 
children  by  the  regular  classroom  teachers,  in  accordance 
with  written  instructions  handed  to  the  principals  of  the 
nine  buildings  and  by  them  communicated  to  their  teachers. 
The  teachers  were  instructed  to  follow  the  ordinary  class 
procedure  in  the  matter  of  writing,  pronunciation,  explana- 
tion of  words  of  more  than  one  meaning,  etc.  Immediately 
upon  completion  of  the  test  the  papers  were  collected,  scored 
by  the  teachers,  results  recorded  on  sheets  prepared  for  the 
purpose,  and  both  papers  and  results  sent  to  the  office  of  the 
survey  commission  in  the  high  school  building,  where  the 
papers  were  checked  for  errors. 

J.    Results  of  the  Test 

The  results  of  this  test  appear  in  the  following  tables  and 
diagrams,  which  present  the  facts  by  schools,  by  grades,  and 
for  the  city  as  a  whole.  The  scores  are  computed  according 
to  the  method  employed  by  Ayres  in  arriving  at  his  norms 
for  the  Ayres  Spelling  Scale.  Twenty  pupils  spelling  twenty 
words  each  would  make  400  spellings.  If  100  of  the  spell- 
ings were  incorrect,  the  percentage  of  accuracy  would  be 
400  into  300,  or  75  per  cent.  The  median  scores  by  grades 
and  by  schools  are  also  shown,  because  they  give  a  better 
idea  of  the  spelling  efficiency  of  a  group  of  individuals  than 
does  the  percentage  of  accuracy. 


Efficiency  of  the  Instruction 


97 


4,    Results  by  Schools  and  for  the  City  as  a  Whole 

Table  22  gives  the  results  by  schools  and  for  the  city  as 
a  whole.  In  this  table  the  schools  are  arranged  in  rank 
order  on  the  basis  of  the  percentage  of  accuracy.    Rank 


TABLE  22 

Showing  Average  and  Median  Scores  by  Schools  and  for  City 
AS  A  Whole 


Schools  by  R.  0}  of  Ac. 


Hawthorne 
Central  .  . 
Park  .  .  . 
Longfellow 
Lowell  .  . 
Washington 
Whittier  . 
Garfield  .  . 
Lincoln    .    . 

All  ...  . 


57 
286 

319 
307 
196 
152 
109 

I7S 
104 


1 70s 


m 


H 
IS 


1,140 
5,720 
6,380 
6,140 
3,920 
3,040 
2,180 
3,500 
2,080 


115 
1042 

1254 

1245 

802 

677 
496 
837 
62s 


34,100 


7093 


90 
82 
80 
80 
80 
78 

77 
76 
70 


79 


8S 


(1) 
(3) 
(2) 
(4) 
(7) 

(6) 
(8) 
(5) 
(9) 


•1^ 


193 
141 

90 

88 

83 

88 

106 

116 

124 


m. 


no 


1  R.  O.  =  Rank  order. 


order  by  median  scores  is  indicated  by  the  figures  in  paren- 
theses at  the  right  of  the  column  marked  "Median  Score." 
The  last  column  on  the  right  gives  the  average  amount  of 
time  per  week  devoted  to  spelling  in  each  school.  This 
table  shows  the  average  spelling  ability  of  the  pupils  in  the 
different  schools.  Hawthorne  School,  with  90  per  cent  of 
accuracy  on  the  Ayres  Scale,  has  the  highest  average  score, 
and  Lincoln  School,  with  70  per  cent,  has  the  lowest  average 
score.  The  latter  is  the  only  school  in  which  the  general 
average  falls  below  the  Ayres  Scale  norm  of  73  per  cent. 


98  The  Boise  Survey 

For  the  city  as  a  whole  the  per  cent  of  accuracy  is  79,  or 
6  points  above  the  Ayres  standard  on  the  same  words.  From 
the  column  of  median  scores  it  appears  that  at  least  50  per 
cent  of  the  children  in  every  Boise  school  made  a  score  of 
75  per  cent  or  better.  In  the  Hawthorne  School  50  per  cent 
of  the  children  made  scores  of  95  or  100.  This  is  a  small 
school,  however,  with  only  57  pupils  in  the  third,  fourth, 
and  fifth  grades  present  on  the  day  the  test  was  given.  The 
average  amount  of  time  devoted  to  spelling  in  the  Hawthorne 
School  is  193  minutes  per  week,  or  83  minutes  per  week 
more  than  the  average  for  the  city  as  a  whole.  Spelling 
efficiency  in  this  school  is  undoubtedly  attained  at  too  great 
a  cost  in  time.  This  83  minutes  would  better  be  used  other- 
wise. 


5.    Results  by  Schools y  by  Grades,  and  for  the 
City  as  a  Whole 

Table  23  shows  the  distribution  of  average  scores  in  spell- 
ing by  schools,  by  grades,  and  for  the  city  as  a  whole,  as 
well  as  the  total  number  of  pupils  in  each  of  the  grades. 
The  data  presented  in  this  table  are  graphically  set  forth 
in  Figure  16,  which  shows  the  highest  and  lowest  grades  in 
each  school,  the  school  average,  the  average  for  the  city  as 
a  whole,  and  the  Ayres  standard  norm  for  the  words  given 
to  each  grade. 

There  is  a  marked  difference  in  spelling  efficiency  between 
the  different  grades  of  the  same  school.  From  the  figures 
above  and  below  the  margins  it  may  be  seen  that  the  third 
grade  in  the  Central  School  made  only  64  per  cent,  whereas 
Grade  5  made  an  average  score  of  93  per  cent.  The  Whittier 
School  presents  a  similar  extreme  case,  where  the  third 
grade  made  a  score  of  98  per  cent,  while  the  fourth  grade 
made  an  average  score  of  only  69  per  cent.  The  grade 
making  the  lowest  average  score  for  the  city  as  a  whole  was 
the  fourth  grade  of  the  Lincoln  School,  with  an  average  of 
only  55  per  cent,  while  the  highest  score  was  made  by  the 


Efficiency  of  the  Instruction 


99 


TABLE    23.      Spelling    Test,    Distribution    of    Average    Scores   by 
Schools,  by  Grades,  and  for  the  City  as  a  Whole 


Schools 


Total  for  City 
Central  .  .  . 
Garfield  .  .  . 
Hawthorne  .  . 
Lincoln  .  .  . 
Longfellow  .  . 
Lowell  .... 

Park 

Washington 
Whittier    .    .    . 

Pupils  in  Grades 


Total 
Ave. 


79 

82 

76 
90 
70 
80 
80 
80 
78 
77 


1705 


83 
87 


81 
87 
75 


245 


Grades 


^3 
83 
87 


88 

95 
68 


296 


80 
76 
73 


64 
76 
75 
94 
92 

79 


270 


77 
93 
73 
86 

85 
78 
63 
80 

64 
79 


311 


77 
77 
71 
91 
55 
69 
81 
93 
75 
69 


301 


78 
64 
73 
92 
81 
76 
69 
73 
83 
98 


282 


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FiG.  16.    Results  of  the  Spelling  Tests  by  Schools 

Upper  margin:  highest  score  made  by  any  grade  in  each  school;  lower  margin:  lowest  score 
made  by  any  grade  m  each  school;  straight  line:  average  score  for  all  the  schools  together; 
dotted  fine:  average  score  of  each  school  by  itself;  full  dotted  line:  Ayres*  standard  for  words 
used  in  test. 


lOO  The  Boise  Survey 

TABLE  24.    Showing  the  Percentage  of  Children  of  Each  Grade 


Grade 

Possible  Scores 

ICO 

95 

90 

85 

80 

75 

70 

6S 

60 

55 

8 

7 
6 

S 
4 
3 

iS-5 
30-5 
26.0 
21.0 
22.4 
22.6 

17.8 
19.0 
12.0 
14.0 
II. 2 
II. 9 

13.9 
7-3 
7.3 

10. 5 

lO.O 
lO.O 

18.S 
7.5 
9-3 
8.0 
7.6 
S.6- 

S-4 
S-3 
8.2 

95 
7.6 
9.0 

6.5 
4.0 
II. 2 
10. 0 
6.3 
5.6 

5.6 
SO 
7-3 
4-5 
6.0 
6.0 

4.4 
6.0 

5-3 
4.2 
50 
6.3 

4.0 
2.4 
2.2 

3-2 

5.0 
4.5 

2.8 

1-3 
3.0 
2.2 
5.0 
35 

City  Total 

23.0 

14. 1 

9-7 

9-4 

7-4 

7-3 

5-6 

5-2 

35 

30 

third  grade  of  the  Whittier  School,  with  a  score  of  98  per 
cent.  All  the  grades  on  the  lower  margin,  except  the  fifth 
grade  of  the  Hawthorne  School,  made  average  scores  below 
both  the  city  average  and  the  Ayres  standard  norm,  and 
give  evidence  of  spelling  efficiency  below  what  should  reason- 
ably be  expected  of  them.  Grade  4  most  often  ranks  lowest; 
Grade  7  most  often  ranks  highest,  and  there  is  very  little 
correlation  between  amount  of  time  spent  in  the  study  and 
recitation  of  spelling  and  average  scores  attained  in  the 
spelling  test. 

The  above  comparison  of  schools  based  on  the  best 
average  score  made  by  any  grade,  or  on  the  lowest  average 
score  made  by  any  grade,  or  the  comparison  of  any  given 
school  with  the  city  average  and  with  the  Ayres  standard 
norm,  clearly  indicate  the  diversity  of  standards  that  exist 
among  the  different  schools  and  among  the  different  grades 
in  the  same  school  and  suggest  the  necessity  for  careful 
administrative  attention  to  the  problem  of  equalizing  the 
differences  that  now  exist. 


Efficiency  of  the  InstructwH         \  >;  i  ;ioi 

Who  Attained  Each  of  the  Possible  Scores  in  Spelling* 


Possible  Scores 

Grade 

SO 

45 
1.6 

40 
1.6 

35 
.4 

30 

25 

20 

15 

10 

5 

0 

8 

.8 

.8 

.4 

7 

2.4 

36 

1.6 

•3 

•3 

.6 

.6 

1.3 

6 

I.O 

1.0 

1.6 

•7 

i-S 

1.0 

•3 

•7 

•3 

•3 

.. 

S 

2.0 

4.0 

2-3 

1.0 

i-S 

.6 

.6 

.6 

•3 

4 

S3 

2.0 

2.0 

1.6 

1.0 

•7 

1.0 

.3 

•7 

.3 

.7 

3 

2.0 

31 

30 

2.1 

2.0 
1 .0 

1.4 

1.4 

•7 
.6 

•7 
.7 

.0 

.4 

•  7 

.4 

City  Total 

2.0 

2,0 

I.I 

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1  70.9  per  cent  make  scores  above  the  Ayres  norm  of  73. 
29.1 •       '*       below    "       «        "       **73. 

6.    Results  by  Individuals 

In  order  to  get  a  complete  picture  of  the  spelling  efficiency 
of  the  school  children  of  Boise,  it  is  necessary  to  study  the 
individual  scores  of  the  children  in  the  spelling  test  as  well 
as  the  average  scores  by  schools  and  by  grades.  For  ex- 
ample, the  average  score  of  the  pupils  in  the  third  grade  of 
the  Hawthorne  School  was  92  per  cent,  yet  74  per  cent  of 
the  mistakes  were  made  by  30  per  cent  of  the  pupils.  The 
third  grade  of  the  Lincoln  School  made  an  average  score  of 
81  per  cent,  but  91  per  cent  of  the  mistakes  were  made  by 
40  per  cent  of  the  pupils.  These  cases  suggest  that  a  few 
very  poor  spellers  in  a  given  grade  may  pull  down  the  aver- 
age of  that  grade  materially.  A  distribution  by  individual 
scores  will  indicate  proportion  of  poor  and  very  poor  spellers 
in  the  different  grades  and  in  the  city  as  a  whole. 

Table  24  shows  the  distribution  of  the  individual  scores 
and  the  percentage  of  children  of  each  grade  who  attained 
each  of  the  possible  scores  from  100  to  o  inclusive. 


102  T:he  -Boise  Survey 

The  facts  presented  in  Table  24  are  shown  graphically  in 
Figure  17,  for  each  grade  separately  and  for  the  city  as  a 
whole. 

Discussing,  first,  the  distribution  of  scores  for  the  entire 
city,  which  includes  the  records  of  1705  children,  we  find 
that  23.0  per  cent,  or  nearly  one  fourth  of  the  total  number, 
spell  the  entire  twenty  words  of  the  test  correctly;  14  per 
cent  spell  all  but  one  word  correctly;  9.7  per  cent  spell  all 
but  two,  and  9.4  per  cent  spell  all  but  tiiree  of  the  words  of 
the  test  correctly.  All  the  other  possible  scores,  including 
o,  are  represented  in  the  table  by  rapidly  decreasing  per- 
centages of  children. 

When  the  distribution  by  grades  is  considered,  we  find 
that  Grades  3,  4,  and  5  have  a  distribution  similar  to  the 
one  for  the  city  as  a  whole,  while  Grades  6  and  7  have 
higher  percentages,  attaining  the  score  100,  and  Grade  8 
has  higher  percentages  attaining  scores  95  and  85  than 
attain  100. 

Figure  18  shows  the  proportion  of  "good  spellers"  to 
"poor  spellers"  for  each  grade  and  for  the  entire  city.  There 
are  71  per  cent  of  the  children  of  the  Boise  schools  whose 
spelling  ranks  above  the  Ayres  Scale  standard  (73),  and 
29  per  cent  whose  scores  fall  below  that  standard.  The 
eighth  grade  makes  the  best  showing  in  this  comparison, 
with  77.6  per  cent  of  its  pupils  attaining  scores  above  the 
Ayres  standard,  while  the  third  and  fourth  grades  make  the 
poorest  showing  with  only  64.7  and  65.4  per  cent  of  their 
pupils  attaining  scores  above  the  standard. 

From  Table  24  and  Figures  17  and  18  it  appears  that  the 
spelling  test  was  too  easy  for  approximately  25  per  cent  of 
the  children  in  the  Boise  schools,  and  too  difficult  for  an- 
other 25  per  cent.  The  pedagogical  problem  presented  is, 
how  to  adjust  the  work  in  spelling  in  such  a  way  as  to  pro- 
vide work  sufficiently  difficult  to  enlist  the  best  energies  of 
the  "good  spellers,"  thus  saving  them  from  acquiring  habits 
of  idleness,  and  likewise  how  to  bring  the  "poor  spellers" 
up  to  a  reasonable  standard  of  efficiency  without  devoting  a 


Efficiency  of  the  Instruction 


103 


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is  very  doubtful  if  satisfactory  results  can  be  secured  under 
the  present  plan  of  conducting  spelling  exercises  by  whole 


104 


The  Boise  Survey 


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or  half  grades.    By  the  use  of  standard  tests,  and  by  plotting 
the  daily  scores  in  spelling,  it  should  be  possible  for  teachers 


Efficiency  of  the  Instruction  105 

to  group  their  pupils  according  to  spelling  ability.  Work 
could  then  be  given  to  these  groups  commensurate  with  their 
capacity  to  perform  it.  Whenever  the  "fast"  group  had 
attained  approximate  perfection  in  the  spelling  work  as- 
signed to  its  school  grade,  formal  spelling  for  the  members 
of  that  group  could  be  dispensed  with  and  the  attention  of 
the  teacher  concentrated  upon  the  "slow"  group.  In  this 
way  much  time  would  be  saved  to  those  who  are  ahead  of 
their  grade  in  spelling,  while  those  who  are  behind  would 
receive  the  individual  attention  they  need  to  bring  their 
work  up  to  the  standard.  Also  the  extreme  variations  that 
now  appear  between  the  spelling  abilities  of  individuals  and 
of  grades  would  tend  to  disappear. 

7.    Conclusions 

In  general  it  may  be  said,  then,  that  while  Boise  ranks 
well  above  the  Ayres  standard  in  average  spelling  efficiency, 
it  ranks  low  in  the  percentage  of  poor  spellers  found  in  each 
grade,  and  there  is  evidence  of  serious  lack  of  coordination 
in  the  amount  of  time  devoted  to  spelling  in  the  different 
grades.  Considering  the  way  in  which  it  is  utilized,  there 
is  too  much  time  given  to  spelling  in  most  of  the  grades. 
According  to  the  plan  suggested  above,  of  grouping  pupils 
according  to  ability  for  purposes  of  drill  in  spelling,  time 
could  be  allotted  according  to  the  needs  of  the  groups  or- 
ganized. The  "slow"  groups  could  be  given  sufficient  time 
to  permit  a  considerable  amount  of  individual  attention  to 
their  needs  by  the  teacher,  while  the  "fast"  group  could  be 
given  less  time,  or  more  difficult  work  to  accomplish. 

The  excellent  showing  of  the  Boise  schools  in  the  spelling 
test  should  not  blind  the  administrative  authorities  to  the 
necessity  of  making  the  necessary  adjustments  in  methods 
of  supervising  the  teaching  of  spelling  in  order  to  reduce  to 
a  minimum  the  number  of  pupils  who  fall  below  a  reason- 
able standard  of  spelling  efficiency.  The  present  showing 
of  29  per  cent  who  failed  to  reach  the  Ayres  Scale  standard 


io6  The  Boise  Survey 

of  73  per  cent  of  accuracy  should  stand  as  a  challenge  to 
teachers  and  supervisors  alike,  spurring  them  to  make  a 
determined  cooperative  effort  to  improve  conditions  with 
respect  to  the  subject  of  spelling. 

THE   TEST  IN  ARITHMETIC 

Tests  in  arithmetic  were  given  to  pupils  in  seven  schools, 
in  Grades  3  to  8  inclusive,  during  the  last  week  of  May, 
1919. 

J.    Character  of  Tests 

The  tests  used  are  known  as  the  Cleveland  Arithmetic 
Tests.  They  cover  the  fundamental  operations  of  arith- 
metic. There  were  fifteen  different  sets,  designated  by  the 
letters  A,  B,  C,  D,  E,  F,  G,  H,  I,  J,  K,  L,  M,  N,  and  O. 
The  sets  were  arranged  in  ascending  series  according  to  diffi- 
culty, but  the  different  operations  were  interwoven  in  such 
a  way  as  to  give  change  and  variety  sufficient  to  sustain 
interest  and  reduce  fatigue  to  a  minimum.  The  examples 
in  Set  A  were  in  the  addition  of  two  figures.  Set  E  was  addi- 
tion again  in  the  form  of  five-figure  columns,  Set  J,  of  thir- 
teen-figure  columns,  and  Set  M  was  composed  of  examples 
in  the  addition  of  four  columns  of  five  figures  each.  Set  B 
was  of  the  subtraction  of  one  figure  from  one-  or  two-figure 
numbers;  Set  F,  subtraction  of  three-figure  numbers  from 
three-  and  four-figure  numbers.  Sets  C,  G,  and  L  were  in 
multiplication;  Sets  D,  I,  K,  and  N,  in  division;  and  sets 
H  and  O,  in  fractions. 

The  above-described  tests  were  used  because  they  cover 
all  the  fundamental  operations  in  arithmetic  according  to 
a  spiral  arrangement  as  to  difficulty  and  likewise  because 
essentially  the  same  tests  have  been  recently  employed  in 
the  school  surveys  of  Cleveland,  Ohio,  Grand  Rapids,  Michi- 
gan, and  St.  Louis,  Missouri.  The  results  of  the  tests  in 
Boise,  therefore,  will  show  not  only  the  absolute  achieve- 
ment of  Boise  public  school  children  in  the  various  phases 
of  the  subject  of  arithmetic,  but  also  their  relative  achieve- 


Efficiency  of  the  Instruction  107 

ment  when  compared  to  the  children  of  other  cities  where 
the  same  tests  have  been  applied. 


2.    Methods  of  Applying  Test 

Members  of  the  survey  staff,  assisted  by  principals, 
teachers,  and  supervisors  carefully  instructed  in  the  methods 
of  giving  the  tests,  conducted  the  test  exercises  in  the  schools 
selected  for  the  purpose.  The  time  allowances  were  the 
same  for  each  set  as  employed  in  the  Cleveland  and  other 
surveys  and  ranged  from  thirty  seconds  to  three  minutes, 
according  to  the  complexity  of  the  operation.  Between  each 
two  sets  a  few  minutes'  rest  period  was  allowed,  and  after 
the  completion  of  the  ninth  set  a  ten-minute  out-of-doors 
recess  was  given  before  the  last  six  sets  were  attempted. 
The  following  instructions  to  pupils  were  printed  on  each 
test  folder: 

Inside  this  folder  are  examples  which  you  are  to  work  out  when  the 
teacher  tells  you  to  begin.  Work  rapidly  and  accurately.  There  are 
more  problems  in  each  set  than  you  can  work  out  in  the  time  that  will 
be  allowed.  Answers  do  not  count  if  they  are  wrong.  Begin  and  stop 
promptly  at  signals  from  the  teacher. 

At  the  conclusion  of  the  test  teachers  read  the  correct 
answers  aloud,  instructing  the  children  to  mark  each  correct 
example  with  a  "C."  The  children  were  then  told  to  count 
the  number  of  examples  attempted  and  the  number  of  C's 
and  to  write  the  numbers  in  the  columns  at  the  right  of  the 
page  marked  "Ats."  and  "Rts.,"  respectively.  Results  were 
then  transferred  to  the  first  page  of  the  folder  for  ready 
reference,  and  teachers  carefully  verified  the  results  before 
turning  the  folders  over  to  the  representative  of  the  survey 
staff.  Finally,  all  papers  were  checked  for  errors  by  the 
members  of  the  survey  staff  and  their  trained  assistants. 


io8  The  Boise  Survey 

3.    General  Results 

The  median  number  of  examples  solved  correctly  in  each 
set  by  each  grade  for  the  city  as  a  whole  is  set  forth  in 
Table  25.  The  third  grades  attempted  only  the  first  four 
sets,  A,  B,  C,  and  D,  while  the  fourth  grades  did  not  attempt 
Sets  N  and  O.  Wherever  "o"  appears  in  the  tables  as  the 
median  score  of  a  grade,  it  means  that  more  than  50  per 
cent  of  the  pupils  in  that  grade  earned  a  score  of  "zero"  in 
that  set  —  i.e.,  failed  to  solve  any  of  the  examples  attempted. 

Table  25  shows  relatively  constant  progress  from  grade 
to  grade  in  each  of  the  fundamental  arithmetical  processes 
covered  by  the  different  sets,  the  most  striking  exception 
to  this  rule  being  found  in  connection  with  the  median 
scores  attained  in  Set  H,  addition  of  simple  fractions  with 
like  denominators.  In  this  set  the  fourth  grade  makes  a 
score  of  o,  the  fifth,  a  score  of  3.7  examples,  the  sixth,  a 
score  of  o,  the  seventh,  a  score  of  3.5  examples,  and  the 
eighth,  a  score  of  5.8.  There  is  only  a  difference  of  2.1 
examples  between  the  score  of  the  fifth  grade  and  that  of 
the  eighth  grade,  while  the  sixth  fails  entirely  and  the 
seventh  makes  a  lower  score  than  the  fifth  in  this  set. 

In  Set  O,  on  the  other  hand,  which  involves  complex  opera- 
tions in  fractions,  there  appears  to  be  consistent  progress 
from  grade  to  grade,  beginning  with  the  fifth.  The  fact 
that  Grade  6  made  a  median  score  of  2.7  examples  solved 
in  Set  O  (complex  fractions)  and  a  score  of  o  in  Set  H 
(simple  fractions)  would  argue  that  it  was  something  in  the 
nature  of  test  H  that  caused  the  results  to  be  so  uneven. 
Comparison  of  the  Boise  results  with  those  in  other  cities 
seems  to  point,  on  the  other  hand,  to  rather  serious  deficien- 
cies in  the  Boise  method  of  handling  the  subject  of  fractions. 

4.    Comparison  with  Cleveland 

In  Figure  19  comparison  is  made  between  the  median 
scores  of  all  the  grades  in  Boise  in  all  sets,  with  similar 


Efficiency  of  the  Instruction 


109 


TABLE  25 


Median  Scores 

BY  Grades  in  All  Section 
FOR  Entire  City 

S  OF  A 

rithme 

nc  Test 

Section  of 
the  Test 

Grades  Tested 

3 

4 

5 

6 

7 

8 

A 

B 

C 

D 

E 

F 

G 

H 

I 

J 

19.8 
11.3 

lO.O 

9-4 

23.6 
16.S 
15.6 
139 
5-3 
5-6 

4.3 
0 

IS 
3-9 
3-8 
2.3 
3.8 

26.4 
18.4 
16.4 

15.5 
6.1 

71 
5.2 
3-7 
1.8 
4.1 
5-5 
3.4 
4.3 
I.I 

IS 

28.1 
20.6 
18. 1 
17.8 

6.5 
8.2 

6.5 

0 

2.9 

4.8 

7-4 

3.6 

4.7 

1.8 

2.7 

26.8 
21.0 

17-5 
19. 1 

6.7 
9.2 
6.2 
3-5 
3.8 
S-o 
8.0 

4.4 
S-o 
2.0 
3.2 

32.4 

23.7 

21.5 

21.8 

7.0 

9.9 

6.9 

5.8 

4.0 

5-4 
10. 0 

4-7 
5.8 
2.1 
3.6 

K 

L 

M 

N 

0 

No.  of  Pupils   .   .  . 

89 

162 

171 

219 

236 

243 

Total  II 20 

scores  attained  by  the  public  school  children  of  Cleveland. 
The  Boise  scores  are  represented  by  the  solid  bars,  the 
Cleveland  scores  by  the  broken  bars.  It  may  be  said  in 
general  that  the  Boise  third  and  fourth  grades  make  higher 
scores,  set  by  set,  than  do  the  Cleveland  third  and  fourth 
grades;  that  there  is  very  little  difference  between  the  me- 
dian scores  of  the  two  cities  for  the  fifth  and  sixth  grades, 
except  in  test  H,  where  Cleveland  makes  much  the  better 
showing;  and  that  the  Cleveland  seventh  and  eighth  grades 
appear  to  make  better  median  scores  in  a  majority  of  the 
sets  than  do  the  Boise  seventh  and  eighth  grades.  Of  the 
78  median  scores  compared  there  are  40  in  which  the  chil- 


no 


The  Boise  Survey 


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Fio.  ig.    Comparison  op  the  Median  Scohes  in  Boise 


Efficiency  of  the  Instruction 


III 


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WITH  Similar  Scores  Attained  in  Cleveland 


112  The  Boise  Survey 

dren  of  the  Boise  schools  made  higher  scores,  34  in  which 
they  made  lower  scores,  and  4  in  which  they  made  the  same 
score  as  the  children  of  the  same  grades  in  the  Cleveland 
schools. 

5.    Comparison  of  Boise  with  Three  Other  Cities 

In  Table  26  comparison  is  made  between  the  median 
scores  by  grades  in  Sets  H,  K,  L,  M,  and  O,  for  Boise, 
Cleveland,  Grand  Rapids,  and  St.  Louis.  Sets  H  and  O  are 
fractions;  Set  K  is  of  long  division  where  three-place  and 
four-place  numbers  are  divided  by  two-place  numbers;  in 
Set  L,  four-place  numbers  are  multiplied  by  two-place  num- 
bers; in  Set  M,  four  columns  of  five  figures  each  are  to 
be  added. 

When  we  compare  Boise's  record  in  Set  H  with  that  of 
the  other  three  cities,  we  find  that  Boise  occupies  fourth 
place,  while  St.  Louis  occupies  first  place.  The  record  of 
the  St.  Louis  fourth  grade,  a  median  of  7.3  examples  solved, 
is  1.5  examples  higher  than  the  Boise  eighth-grade  record. 
If  we  assume  that  the  results  attained  in  Set  H  by  the  Cleve- 
land and  Grand  Rapids  schools  represent  a  reasonable  stand- 
ard of  achievement,  it  is  apparent  that  Boise  is  attaining 
very  unsatisfactory  results,  while  St.  Louis  is  probably 
spending  too  much  time  on  the  subject  of  fractions. 

In  Set  K,  Cleveland  occupies  first  place,  Boise  and  St. 
Louis  are  about  equal,  and  Grand  Rapids  makes  the  poorest 
showing.  In  fairness  to  the  three  last-named  cities  it  should 
be  said,  however,  that  the  examples  used  in  Set  K  in  the 
Cleveland  survey  were  easier  than  the  examples  for  Set 
K  in  the  revised  test  used  in  Grand  Rapids,  St.  Louis,  and 
Boise.  The  development  of  ability  to  handle  problems  in 
long  division  seems  to  be  quite  consistent  from  grade  to 
grade  in  all  four  cities. 

In  the  multiplication  of  four-place  numbers  by  two-place 
numbers  (Set  L),  St.  Louis  again  occupies  first  place,  Boise 
and  Grand  Rapids  make  records  that  are  about  equal, 
and  Cleveland  is  at  the  bottom. 


Efficiency  of  the  Instruction 


"3 


TABLE  26 

Comparing  Median  Scores  by  Grades  in  Sets  "H,"  "K,"  "L,"  "M," 
AND  "O,"  FOR  Boise,  Cleveland,  Grand  Rapids,  and  St.  Louis  Schools 

Set  H,  Simple  Fractions 


Name  of  City 

Boise 

Cleveland 

Grand 
Rapids 

St.  Louis 

Median  Scores 
by  Grades 
4 

s 

6 

7 

8 

o.o 

3-7 
o.o 

35 

5.8 

o.o 
5-0 
5.5 
7.7 
8.5 

0.0 
6.3 
6.5 
7.8 
8.8 

7.3 

5-7 
8.1 
9.6 

II. 4 

Set  K,  Long  Division 


4 

Z-^ 

4.0 

3.7 

5 

5.5 

6.8 

Z'7 

5-4 

6 

7-4 

8.5 

5.9 

7.2 

7 

8.0 

10. 1 

8.2 

9.0 

8 

10. 0 

12.5 

10. 0 

II. 0 

Set  L,  Multiplication,  Two  Place 


Set  M,  Addition,  4  Columns,  $  Figures  Each 


114 


The  Boise  Survey 


TABLE  26  {continued) 
Set  O,  Fractions,  All  Operations 


4 
5 
6 

7 
8 


CO 

1-5 

CO 

2.7 

3-1 

3.6 

3-2 

4.1 

43 

3-6 

5-5 

S-i 

2-5 

3-3 
3-9 
5-2 
6.4 


Boise  occupies  first  place  in  the  comparisons  for  Set  M, 
addition  of  four  columns  of  five  figures  each,  and  requiring 
the  carrying  forward  of  results.  St.  Louis  and  Grand 
Rapids  make  records  that  are  about  equal,  while  Cleveland 
comes  last  again. 

Set  O  requires  addition,  division,  subtraction,  and  multi- 
plication of  fractions.  St.  Louis  occupies  first  place,  Cleve- 
land and  Grand  Rapids  are  about  equal,  and  Boise  is  last. 
The  St.  Louis  sixth  grade  makes  a  better  score  than  the 
Boise  eighth  grade  in  this  set. 

If  Boise  had  made  an  inferior  record  in  a  majority  of 
the  sets  when  compared  to  the  records  of  the  other  three 
cities,  it  might  be  possible  to  explain  the  failure  in  dealing 
with  fractions  on  the  ground  of  the  nine  weeks'  interruption 
of  school  activities  on  account  of  the  influenza  epidemic 
during  the  school  year  191 8-19.  But  since  Boise's  record 
compares  favorably  with  the  records  of  the  other  three 
cities  in  all  the  sets,  except  the  two  sets  involving  fractions, 
it  is  apparent  that  the  failure  here  is  due  to  some  cause  that 
can  be  eliminated  by  proper  teaching  and  supervision.  The 
treatment  of  fractions  is  the  outstanding  weakness  of  the 
Boise  schools  so  far  as  the  subject  of  arithmetic  is  con- 
cerned. 


Efficiency  of  the  Instruction  iij 

6.    Results  by  Schools 

Median  scores  by  grades  for  each  school  in  each  test  set 
are  included  in  Table  27.  The  general  results  shown  in 
Tables  25  and  26  are  useful  as  revealing  the  status  of  the 
Boise  public  schools  when  compared  with  the  schools  of 
other  cities  in  regard  to  progress  in  arithmetic.  Table  27 
is  of  much  greater  interest  to  Boise  teachers  and  school 
officials,  because  it  discloses  the  results,  set  by  set,  for  each 
grade  and  in  each  school  where  the  tests  were  given.  Thus 
a  third-grade  teacher  in  the  Whittier  School  is  enabled  to 
compare  the  median  scores  attained  by  her  pupils  in  the 
four  sets  of  examples  with  the  scores  of  all  the  other  third 
grades  taking  the  tests  and  also  with  the  city  medians  for 
that  grade. 

The  Longfellow  School  fourth  grade  makes  a  median  score 
of  7.8  examples  in  Set  H,  while  all  the  other  fourth  grades, 
except  the  Whittier,  make  median  scores  of  o.  In  fact, 
the  record  of  the  Longfellow  School  in  Set  H  supports  the 
contention  that  proper  methods  and  supervision  in  tlie  teach- 
ing of  fractions  would  have  brought  Boise's  record  up  to 
that  of  the  other  cities.  Longfellow's  grades  make  the  fol- 
lowing scores  in  Set  H:  fourth,  7.8;  fifth,  8.0;  sixth,  4.0; 
seventh,  9.0;  eighth,  10.2,  or  about  the  equivalent  of  the 
median  scores  made  by  the  St.  Louis  schools.  Contrast  the 
Longfellow  scores  in  Set  H  with  the  scores  made  by  Park 
School,  which  were:  fourth,  o;  fifth,  2.5;  sixth,  o;  seventh, 
o;  eighth,  o.  Certainly  the  responsibility  for  such  extreme 
differences  in  median  scores  must  be  laid  to  inadequate 
teaching  and  supervision. 

Differences  that  exist  between  grades  in  the  same  school 
may  be  illustrated  by  the  contrast  between  the  results  at- 
tained by  all  the  grades  in  the  Longfellow  School,  except 
the  sixth.  When  the  median  scores  earned  by  the  fourtii, 
fifth,  seventh,  and  eighth  grades  of  the  Longfellow  School 
are  compared  with  the  scores  of  the  other  schools,  set  by  set, 
Longfellow  ranks  i,  2,  or  3,  consistently,  but  when  it  comes 
to  the  Longfellow  sixth  grade  the  rank  is  7. 


ii6 


The  Boise  Survey 


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Efficiency  of  the  Instruction 


"7 


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ii8 


The  Boise  Survey 


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Efficiency  of  the  Instruction 


119 


Table  28  shows  the  ranks  attained  by  each  of  the  seven 
schools  in  their  sixth  grades.  The  final  rank  for  each 
school's  sixth  grade  was  worked  out  by  adding  together  the 
ranks  attained  by  the  sixth  grade  of  each  school  in  each  set, 
and  considering  that  school  as  ranking  first  the  sum  of 
whose  ranks  was  least.  Thus  the  sum  of  the  ranks  attained 
by  the  sixth  grade  of  the  Lowell  School  was  34,  while  the 
sum  of  the  ranks  of  the  Longfellow  School's  sixth  grade 
was  83.  Lowell  is  given  rank  i,  and  Longfellow,  rank  7. 
By  treating  the  results  in  all  the  grades  of  all  the  schools  in 
the  manner  illustrated  in  Table  28,  it  was  possible  to  arrive 
at  an  approximation  of  the  relative  standings  of  the  seven 
schools  where  the  arithmetic  test  was  given;  i.e.,  Lowell,  i; 
Longfellow,  2;  Garfield,  3;  Central,  4;  Washington,  5; 
Whittier,  6;  and  Park,  7. 

TABLE  28 

Showing  Rank  Order  op  Schools  in  Each  Set  op  Tests  for  Sixth 

Grades 


Name  of 
School 

Sets  of  Tests 

Final 
Rank 

A 

B 

c 

D 

E 

F 

G 

H 

I 

J 

K 

L 

M 

N 

0 

Whittier  .    . 
Park    .    .    . 
Garfield  .    . 
Longfellow 
Central    .    . 
Washington 
LoweU     .    . 

2 

7 
I 
6 
4 
5 
3 

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4 

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2 
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(6) 
(5) 
(2) 
(7) 
(4) 
(3) 
(i) 

I20  The  Boise  Survey 

7.    Individual  Differences 

Figure  20  shows  the  differences  in  scores  earned  by  the 
seventh-grade  pupils  of  the  Park  School  in  each  set  of  the 
arithmetic  test.  Thus  in  Set  A,  the  number  of  examples 
solved  ranged  from  13  to  39;  in  Set  B,  from  11  to  40;  in 
Set  C,  from  9  to  30;  in  Set  D,  from  4  to  28,  etc. 

A  distribution  of  scores  representing  total  number  of 
examples  solved  in  the  time  allowed  by  each  pupil  accord- 
ing to  the  chronological  ages  of  the  pupils  disclosed  the 
following: 

Chronological  age:  ii  years  12  years   13  years   14  years  15  years 
Total  No.  examples:    149  141  13S  123  95 

Inasmuch  as  the  11 -year-olds  in  the  seventh  grade  are  accel- 
erated, and  the  15-year-olds  are  retarded,  for  that  grade,  it 
appears  that  individual  differences  within  a  given  grade  are 
primarily  due  to  differences  in  native  ability  rather  than  to 
differences  in  training. 

This  idea  is  further  illustrated  in  Table  29,  which  gives  in 
detail  the  scores  made  by  the  pupils  solving  the  greatest  and 
least  number  of  examples  in  the  seventh  grade  of  the  Park 
School.  Here  it  appears  that  a  girl  12  years,  11  months  of 
age  solved  225  examples  in  22  minutes  of  working  time,  or 
10.2  examples  per  minute,  while  a  boy  15  years  and  i  month 
of  age,  repeating  the  7B  grade,  solved  78  examples  in  22 
minutes  working  time,  or  3.5  examples  per  minute. 

Figure  21,  where  the  two  scores  just  referred  to  are  shown 
with  reference  to  the  city  median  scores  for  the  seventh 
grade,  shows  how  wide  apart  these  two  pupils  were  in  every 
set  of  examples  except  Set  i,  where  they  both  made  a  score 
of  2  examples  correctly  solved.  The  scores  of  the  lowest 
pupil  correspond  almost  exactly  to  the  median  scores  for  the 
fourth  grade,  while  the  scores  of  the  highest  pupil  are  equal 
to  or  above  the  medians  for  the  eighth  grade,  except  in  Set  I. 
Here,  then,  are  pupils  in  the  same  school  grade  who  are  fully 
four  grades  apart  in  arithmetical  ability. 


Efficiency  of  the  Instruction 


121 


ABCDEFOHi    J  K  L    M  N  0 


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Fig.  2o.    Individual  Differences  of  31  7B  Pupils  in  Park  School,  Show- 
ing Lowest  and  Highest  Scores  Made  in  Each  Set 


122 


The  Boise  Survey 


TABLE  29 

Showing  Individual  Differences  within  the  Seventh  Grade 
Park  School 


Sets  of  Tests 

A 

B 

c 

D 

E 

F 

G 

H 

I 

J 

K 

L 

M 

N 

0 

Highest  7th 

— 

— 



— 

— 

— 

— 

Grade  Score 

37 

40 

26 

28 

9 

17 

10 

5 

2 

8 

16 

8 

10 

4 

5 

City  Medians 

for  7th  Grade 

26.8 

21. 0 

17. s 

19. 1 

6.7 

9.2 

6.2 

3-5 

3.8 

S-o 

8.0 

4.4 

S.o 

2.0 

3.2 

Lowest  7th 

Grade  Score 

20 

IS 

9 

12 

2 

S 

4 

0 

2 

0 

4 

2 

2 

0 

I 

Total  number  of  examples  solved  in  time  allowed  by  highest  pupil,  225 


«      ((     «         « 


lowest 


78 


Age  of  pupil  making  highest  score,  12  yrs.,  11  months;  grade,  high  7th 
lowest     "       IS   "        I       "  "      low  7th 


((     ((      i< 


The  existence  of  such  individual  differences  as  have  just 
been  discussed  suggests  the  necessity  for  a  more  scientific 
system  of  grading  and  classification  than  is  to  be  found  in 
the  majority  of  our  school  systems.  The  use  of  intelligence 
tests  as  a  basis  for  classifying  and  grading  pupils  according 
to  ability  would  undoubtedly  be  one  of  the  features  of  such 
an  improved  system.  An  immediate  need  for  ungraded 
rooms  for  special  cases  like  these  is  obvious. 


8,    Accuracy 

In  all  the  preceding  tables  medians  have  been  based  on 
the  number  of  examples  correctly  solved  and  no  account  has 
been  taken  of  "attempts."  A  few  words  should  be  said 
regarding  the  relation  between  "attempts"  and  "rights."  As 
a  means  of  illustrating  this  relationship  the  median  number 
of  "attempts"  and  the  median  number  of  "rights"  for  each 


Efficiency  of  the  Instruction 


123 


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) 

'Hi&H£jr  JCOK£S,  &ifAD£   V/f,  PfiTPfC  SCHOOL 
'LOWEST  SCORES,  6Kf1i>£  V//,  P/ffif^  SCHOOL 

'MCDMN  scORSj  FOR  EUTiRE  CI  rr,  SRaOE  Vtf 


Fig.  21. 


Comparing  Lowest  and  Highest  7th-GRADE  Score  in  the  Park 
School  with  City  Median 


124 


The  Boise  Survey 


grade  in  Sets  M  and  O  in  three  schools  where  tests  were 
given  to  all  grades  from  fourth  to  eighth  inclusive,  were 
worked  out.    The  results  are  shown  in  Figure  22. 

In  the  fundamental  operations,  represented  by  Set  M,  the 
percentage  of  accuracy  is  very  much  higher  for  all  the  grades 
than  in  the  complex  operations,  represented  by  Set  O.  For 
Set  M  the  percentage  of  accuracy  ranges  from  68.0  to  78.4, 
while  in  Set  O  the  range  of  accuracy  is  from  15.0  per  cent 
in  the  fifth  grade  to  40.6  per  cent  in  the  eighth  grade.  Since 
success  in  solving  problems  involving  fractions  seems  to 
depend  more  on  "knowing  how"  than  on  routine  drill,  the 
maturity  of  the  pupils  is  a  fundamental  item  to  be  taken 
into  account  in  teaching  methods  and  organization  of 
subject  matter  in  arithmetic.  There  would  probably  be  no 
appreciable  loss  in  ability  to  handle  fractions  in  the  eighth 


10 

9 

ft 

•■' 

^-^ 

^-*-' 

., ' ' 

/nTEMPT^ 

4 
3 

^^^ 



•  X. 

^- 

2- 

0 

SET  >7' 

IV  V  VI  vn  VIII 

Fig.  22.  Showino  the  Medun  Number  of  "Attempts"  and  the  Median  Num- 


Efficiency  of  the  Instruction 


"S 


grade  if  their  introduction  into  the  courses  in  arithmetic 
should  be  postponed  until  the  beginning  of  the  sixth  grade. 


SUMMARY 

1.  The  general  record  of  Boise  in  the  arithmetic  test  when 
compared  to  that  of  other  cities  where  the  same  test  has  been 
applied  is  very  good,  the  most  important  exceptions  being 
in  Sets  H  and  O,  which  deal  with  fractions. 

2.  The  differences  that  exist  between  schools  as  shown 
by  their  records  in  the  arithmetic  test  point  to  the  necessity 
of  using  standard  rather  than  local  tests  in  determining  the 


m 

aTTEMPTS 

*  . 

■--. 

^-s 

.'' 

>• 

. - 

*■ 

y 

RIGHT 

/ 

1 

0 

jrr  'o* 

,  /;; I'r      ■ 

IV  V  VI  VII  V/ll 

BEE  or  "Rights"  tor  Each  Geade  in  Sets  M  and  O  in  Theee  Schools 


126  The  Boise  Survey 

efficiency  of  teaching  methods.  The  results  of  such  tests 
should  be  carefully  studied  by  individual  teachers  and  super- 
visors, with  a  view  to  revising  and  improving  their  own 
classroom  procedure  in  arithmetic. 

3.  The  uneven  results  secured  in  the  tests  involving  frac- 
tions suggest  the  necessity  for  improvement  in  the  technique 
of  handling  that  phase  of  the  study  of  arithmetic,  and  also 
the  possibility  of  postponing  the  introduction  of  fractions 
until  the  5 A  or  6  B  grades. 

4.  The  intimate  connection  between  native  endowment 
and  success  in  the  complicated  operations  of  arithmetic  em- 
phasizes the  necessity  for  the  use  of  psychological  tests  as 
an  aid  in  the  more  scientific  grading  and  classification  of 
the  pupils  in  our  public  schools. 

RECOMMENDATIONS 

Chapter  IV  described  Boise's  curriculum  and  indicated 
the  time  cost  of  the  various  subjects.  The  results  of  tests 
here  reported  indicate  the  extent  of  Boise's  success  in  teach- 
ing three  different  subjects  and  at  the  same  time  bring  to 
light  the  weak  and  strong  points  in  these  three  lines  of  in- 
struction. The  suggestions  are  obvious,  that  these  subjects 
are  not  properly  supervised;  that  no  common  aim  domi- 
nates the  instruction  in  the  various  classrooms;  and  that 
the  time  cost  of  these  results  has  not  been  properly  con- 
sidered. In  fact,  when  Grade  8  in  one  school  makes  a  score 
of  68  in  spelling,  while  in  another  school  the  same  grade 
makes  2>7„  one  must  conclude  that  the  term  "grade"  has 
little  meaning  in  practice. 

It  is  accordingly  recommended  that  more  real  super- 
vision of  instruction  be  provided  for;  that  teachers  and 
supervisors  carry  on  studies  similar  to  those  here  reported, 
to  the  end  that  the  grade  and  class  organization  of  the 
schools  shall  be  thoroughly  checked  up;  tiiat  some  kind  of 
special  classes  be  provided  for  handling  the  many  pupils 
who  are  so  far  below  standard*  that  special  attention  also 


Efficiency  of  the  Instruction  127 

be  given  to  the  children  who  are  so  much  above  standard; 
that  the  content  of  the  curriculum  be  thoroughly  revised 
and  reorganized;  and  finally  that  serious  consideration  be 
given  to  the  relation  of  time  allotment  to  results  achieved 
in  the  classroom. 


CHAPTER  VI 

PROGRESS   OF   THE   CHILDREN 
IN   THE   SCHOOLS 

(Williams) 

THE  DISTRIBUTION  OF  THE  PUPILS 

LIKE  most  other  cities,  the  schools  of  Boise  group  the 
pupils  in  the  elementary  schools  into  sixteen  grades, 
each  of  which  represents  a  half-year's  work.  The  efficiency 
of  the  schools  in  holding  pupils  through  this  series  of  grades 
is  indicated  in  a  general  way  by  the  relative  enrollment  as 
we  pass  up  the  scale  from  the  first  grade  to  the  high  school. 
The  holding  power  of  the  Boise  schools  is  more  effective 
than  in  most  cities,  as  evidenced  by  the  fact  that  while  the 
entering  class  contains  199  pupils,  there  are  145  pupils  com- 
pleting the  last  work  preparatory  to  entering  high  school. 
This  maintenance  of  an  even  enrollment  is  a  highly  com- 
mendable feature  of  the  school  system,  and  is  complimentary 
to  the  community.  Figure  23  shows  the  percentages  of  the 
city's  children  who  are  retarded,  at  age,  and  accelerated, 
respectively. 

The  distribution  of  the  pupils  by  ages  and  grades  is  shown 
in  Table  30.  This  table  includes  2502  pupils,  representing 
the  enrollment  in  May,  191 9,  compiled  from  data  furnished 
by  the  teachers.  The  heavy  lines  running  diagonally  down 
the  table,  from  left  to  right,  enclose  the  numbers  which 
represent  pupils  who  are  "at  age,"  meaning  that  they  are 
in  the  grade  in  which  they  should  be  expected  to  be,  ac- 
cording to  commonly  accepted  age-grade  standards.  These 
pupils  may  be  said  to  be  making  normal  progress,  in  so  far 
as  their  rate  of  progress  can  be  inferred  from  their  present 
location.    This  group  includes,  for  the  first  grade,  all  the 

128 


Progress  of  the  Children  in  the  Schools      129 


RET/^RDE 0^23.9%        ^T/^GE:     AO.6%  ACCELERATED   3S.a 


Fig.  23.    Extent  of  Acceleration,  Normal  Progress,  and  Retardation 
IN  Boise  Schools  in  May,  1919 

pupils  who  are  between  6^  and  8  years  of  age;  for  the  second 
grade,  those  who  are  between  7^  and  9  years,  etc.  It  as- 
sumes the  entering  of  school  at  about  7  and  completing  the 
grades  during  the  fourteenth  year.  The  "at  age"  group 
contains  1012  pupils,  or  about  40  per  cent  of  the  entire  en- 
rollment. This  would  suggest  that  the  standard  is  fair,  and 
that  it  can  be  closely  followed  by  most  of  the  pupils,  accord- 
ing to  the  present  standards  of  instruction  and  promotion. 

ACCELERATED   PUPILS 

The  numbers  above  the  diagonal  lines  in  Table  30  repre- 
sent the  pupils  who  are  beyond  the  grades  in  which  the 
expectations  would  place  them,  for  their  ages.  This  group 
includes  894  pupils,  or  nearly  36  per  cent  of  the  entire  en- 
rollment. The  extent  of  the  acceleration  is  indicated  by  the 
distance  above  the  upper  diagonal  line.  Thus  the  child  who 
is  represented  as  being  in  the  second  half  of  the  first  grade 
at  less  than  six  years  of  age,  is  advanced  two  years  beyond 
those  in  the  same  grade  who  are  just  making  the  expected 
progress.  Six  pupils  are  completing  the  latter  half  of  the 
eighth  grade  at  twelve  years,  which  also  represents  two 
years'  acceleration.  Most  of  the  rapid  group,  however,  are 
but  slightly  above  the  normal-progress  lines,  and  it  will  be 
seen  that  no  pupil  is  advanced  more  than  two  years.  From 
Table  31  it  is  evident  that  the  tendency  to  be  two  years  ad-  • 
vanced  increases  toward  the  eighth  grade,  while  the  ten-' 
dency  to  be  one  year  advanced  decreases. 

It  appears  that  these  pupils  are  accelerated  not  by  reason 
of  the  accident  of  entering  school  earlier  than  the  other 


I30 


The  Boise  Survey 


TABLE  30 
Age-Grade  Distribution  in  Boise  Public  Schools,  May,  1919 


Ages  of  Pupils  in 
Years  and  Months 

Grade 

I 

Grade 
2 

Grade 
3 

Grade 
4 

Grade 
5 

Grade 
6 

Grade 
7 

Grade 
8 

Tot 

B 

A 

B 

A 

B 

A 

B 

A 

B 

A 

B 

A 

B 

A 

B 

A 

— 

Under  s  Years 

S-o  to  SS 

— 

— 

— 

~ 

5-6  to  s-ii    .    .    .    . 

^6 

I 
II 

— 

— 

— 



— 

— 

— 

— 

— 

— 

— 

— 

— 

— 

I 

57 

131 

140 

JS6 
144 
140 
171 
U9 
160 

_I4? 

J48 
161 
151 
164 
126 
116 
84 
63 

_46 
34 

7 

2 

a 

6-0  to  6-s 

— 

— 

— 



— 

— 

— 

— 

— 

-- 

— 

— 

— 

— 

6-6to6-ii    .    .    .    . 

t\ 

52 

S 

— 

— 

— 

— 

— 

— 

— 

— 

— 

— 

— 

7-0  to  7-S 

~2, 

•% 
^ 

_34 

_£f 

— 

— 

— 

— 

— 

— 

— 

— 

— 

7-6  to  7-11    .... 

1 

_? 

I 

If 
8 

49 

_8 

2 

_4 

I 
3 

I 
"13 

26 
17 
8 

_7 
_S 

I 
I 
2 
2 

— 

— 

— 

— 

— 

— 

— ' 

— 

— 

8-0  to  8-5 

I 

3 
24 

II 

22 
I 

4 

I 

I 

— 

— 

— 

— 

— 

— 

— 

— 

8-6  to  8-11    .... 

_3 

I 

I 

I 
2 

I 

-3 
5 

Zk 

I 
2 

3 

5 
_3 

I 

1 
4 

— 

— 

9-0  to  9-5 

2 
24 

— 

— 

— 

— 

— 

— 

Q-6  to  9-11    .... 

I 

_5 

15 

1 

II 

_7 
_3 

3 
2 

— 

— 

— 

— 

— 

lo-o  to  lo-s  .... 

I 

7 

18 

28 

17 
_8 

_S 

4 

_S 

I 

— 

— 

— 

— 

10-6  to  lO-II     .    .    . 

1^ 

— 

— 

— 

— 

ii-o  to  ii-s  .... 

3 

IS 

1 

A 

14 

_5 

8 

_6 

2 
I 

— 

— 

— 

11-6  to  II-II     .    .    . 

20 

_? 
_S 
_3 
_f 
I 
I 

II 

_6 

__2 
_2 

_7 
17 

± 
31 

27 

6. 

6 

_6 

I 

10 
JS 
17 
24 

16 
~8 
10 

^6 

5 
8 

M 

25 

Jl 
Jl 
_13 

5 

I 

12-0  to  12-S  .... 

... 

— 

— 

I 

I2-6tOI2-II      .      .      . 

1 

13-0  to  13-S  .... 

13-6  to  13-H    .    .    . 

— 

— 

— 





l4-otoi4-S.    .    .    . 

— 

■^ 

— 

1^ 

— 

^ 

14-6  to  14-11    .    .    . 

iS-o  to  15-S  .... 

— 

— 









iS-6  to  is-ii    .    .    . 



— 



— 



— 

16-0  to  16-S  .... 

— 

— 

— 





— 

— 

— 



16-6  to  16-11    .    .    . 

— 

— 

— 







— 

— 

— 





— 

i7-otoi7-s  .... 

— 

— 

— 



— 



— 

— 

— 





I 

17-6  to  17-11    .    .    . 

— 

— 

— 

— 





— 

— 







— 

— 

— 

18-0  to  18-S  .... 

— 

— 

— 

— 





— 

— 

— 





— 

— 

— 

— 

— 



18-6  to  18-11     .    .    . 

— 



— 

— 





— 

— 

— 







— 

— 

— 

— 



19-0  to  IQ-S  .... 



■-u. 

^1^ 

.LIJ 

l-Ll 



— 

— 

— 





— 

— 

— • 

— 

— 

19-6  to  19-11     .    .    . 



— 

— 

— 





— 

— 

-"~ 

— 

— ~ 

—~~ 

20  and  over   .... 





— 





172 

-55 
J82 

35 



— 

— 





— 

— 

— 

— 

— 



Totab 

117 
36 

^3 

_6_4 

80 

39 

121 

ji 

_64 
20 

i6i 
69 
68 

28 

13? 

43 
_6j 

34 

153 

_S7 
43 

76^ 

A' 

50 
48 

il8 

Jl 
41 

72 

_8i 
34 

130 

Jl 
_49 
43 

140 
J* 
Jf 
41 

£37 

52 

i"8^ 
86 

M4 

42 

_^ 
34 

U5 

Jl 
37 

2502 
i04 
1012 
506 

Accelerated    .... 

At  age 

Retarded 

_48 
37 

5 

pupils,  but  because  they  have  been  found  capable  of  more 
advanced  work  than  most  of  the  children  of  the  same  age. 


Progress  of  the  Children  in  the  Schools        131 


TABLE  31 
Extent  of  Acceleration  and  Retardation  by  Grades 


Accelerated     2  Years. 
Accelerated    i  Year  . 

At  Age 

Retarded  i  Year  .  . 

Retarded  2  Years  . 

Retarded  3  Years  . 

Retarded  4  Years  . 

Retarded  5  Years  . 


Totals 


I 
109 

197 

51 
18 

4 

I 
I 


382 


106 
132 

33 
12 

3 


286 


4 
94 

144 

54 
II 

4 


311 


5 
no 

116 

55 

23 

7 

5 

I 


322 


12 
116 

132 

52 
16 

5 
2 


325 


14 
87 

103 

54 

19 

8 

2 

I 


288 


16 
122 

98 

52 

26 

4 

I 


319 


8 


21 

77 

90 

54 
16 


259 


Total 


73 
821 


405 

141 

36 

II 

3 


2502 


They  have  been  permitted  to  "skip"  grades,  or  to  be  pro-  ^ 
moted  into  a  higher  grade  before  the  usual  promotion  time. 
They  thus  become  a  valuable  asset  to  the  schools  and  to 
the  community,  not  only  because  of  their  superior  ability, 
but  because  the  schools  have  recognized  this  ability  and 
have  given  it  an  opportunity  for  expression  where  it  can 
operate  most  effectively. 

Some  of  the  most  important  developments  in  public  edu- 
cation in  recent  years  have  been  founded  upon  the  variability 
of  children  of  the  same  age.  The  promotion  of  pupils  ac- 
cording to  their  capacities  is  a  commendable  practice,  and 
should  be  further  encouraged.  If  a  child  is  capable  of  com-  ^ 
pleting  the  eight  years  of  work  in  six  years,  it  is  to  his  advan- 
tage and  to  the  advantage  of  the  schools  that  he  be  permitted 
and  encouraged  to  do  so.  The  promotion  of  pupils  on  the 
basis  of  intelligence  tests,  as  suggested  in  another  chapter  of 
this  report,  will  serve  to  bring  about  a  better  distribution 
through  the  grades. 


132 


The  Boise  Survey 


RETARDED    PUPILS 

Referring  again  to  the  age-grade  distribution  table  (30), 
the  numbers  below  the  diagonal  lines  represent  the  pupils 
who  are  behind  their  class  in  point  of  age.  The  extent  of 
the  deviation  from  the  normal  section  represents  the  degree 
of  retardation,  each  space  in  the  vertical  columns  repre- 
senting a  half-year.  For  example,  the  two  pupils  in  Grade 
3 A  who  are  more  than  12^  years  of  age  are  three  years  re- 
tarded, being  six  spaces  removed  from  the  82  children  who 
are  of  the  normal  age  for  that  grade. 

In  the  amount  of  retardation  Boise  ranks  high  in  com- 
parison with  other  cities.  Figure  24,  in  which  a  number  of 
American  cities  are  compared,  shows  the  position  of  Boise 
in  this  respect.  In  most  cities  it  has  been  found  that  about 
one  third  of  the  pupils  are  retarded.  In  Boise  the  propor- 
tion is  23.5  per  cent,  or  less  than  one  fourth.  In  some  com- 
munities as  many  as  one  half  of  the  pupils  are  retarded,  but 
in  most  western  cities  steps  have  been  taken  in  recent  years 
to  bring  these  laggards  up  to  grade  and  thus  to  reduce  the 
amoimt  of  retardation,  with  its  undesirable  consequences. 

EXTENT   OF   RETARDATION 

It  will  be  seen  from  the  accompanying  tables  that  re- 
tardation is  common  to  all  the  grades.    It  increases  up  to 


TABLE  32 
Number  and  Percentage  of  Retarded  Pupils  by  Grades 


I 

2 

3 

4 

5 

6 

7 

8 

Total 

Total  Enrollment .   . 
Number  Retarded    . 
Per  Cent  Retarded  . 

382 

75 
19.6 

286 

48 

16.8 

3" 

69 

22.2 

322 

91 

28.2 

/ 

335 

75 

22.4 

288 

84 
29.2 

319 

83 

26.0 

259 

71 

27.0 

2502 

596 

23. S 

Progress  of  the  Children  in  the  Schools        133 


PCRCCNT 

P              \ 

oa.o 

r 

.0 

'p 

V 

7 

V 

f 

•1 

0 

QUINGY,MAS5. 

BOISE.IDAH0 

RACINE.  WIS. 
AMSTERDAM.  NY 
OANBURY.CONN. 
ELMIRA.NY 
NEW  ROCHELLE.N.Y 
MUSKEGON,  MICH. 
NIAGARA  FALLS,N.Y 
DANVILLE,  ILL. 
PLAINFIELO.  N.J. 
PERTH  AM  BOY.  NJ. 
HAZELTON.PA. 
KENOSHA,  WIS. 
MONTCLAIR.N.*!. 
BUTTE.  MONT. 

PCRCCNT 

■■1 

■        ,          ,,,„      -^ ^ , , 

S 

B-             '             '             '             '             ■    :^-^ 

s 

1              ,                ,                ,                .                ,                . 

nm 

■ 

mi 

^       1 

a 

^c 

1    :     ;     :     !     ! 

1 

>        a' 

1            3 

!>               - 

> 

■ 

^0 

Vo 

^0 

•b 

ido 

Fig.  24.    Retardation  in  American  Cities 


the  sixth  grade,  and  thereafter  falls  off  slightly,  probably  on 
account  of  the  dropping  out  of  retarded  pupils  in  the  upper 
grades.  The  smallest  proportions,  as  might  be  expected, 
are  found  in  the  first  two  grades. 

Tables  31  and  32  summarize,  by  grades,  the  extent  of  re- 
tardation and  acceleration.  While  the  amount  of  retardation 
is  in  part  compensated  by  the  amount  of  acceleration,  each 
expressed  in  gross  quantities,  it  should  be  noted  that  the 
extent  of  the  downward  distribution  is  greater  than  that 
of  the  upward  distribution.  The  greater  proportion  of  each 
group  deviates  but  one  year  from  the  limit  of  normal  prog- 
ress; and  while  only  8  per  cent  of  the  rapid  group  are  accel- 
erated more  than  one  year,  32  per  cent  of  the  slow  group  are 
retarded  more  than  one  year.  This  fact  should  be  taken 
into  consideration  in  any  comparison  of  age-grade  statistics. 
The  number  of  accelerated,  normal  and  retarded  pupils  is 
shown  by  schools,  by  grades  and  for  the  city  as  a  whole  in 
Table  33. 

RESULTS   OF   RETARDATION 

If  the  pupils  of  any  classroom  in  Boise  should  be  stood  in 
a  line,  arranged  in  order  of  age,  from  the  youngest  to  the  old- 


134 


The  Boise  Survey 


TABLE  33 

AcCELERAnON,  NORMAL  PROGRESS,  AND  RETARDATION  BY  WhOLE 

Grades  and  by  Schools 


Accelerated  Group 

I 

2 

3 

4 

5 

6 

7 

8 

Total 

Central 

Garfield 

Hawthorne 

Lincobi 

Longfellow 

Lowell 

Park 

Washington 

Whittier 

lO 

13 
6 

13 
18 
II 

9 
8 

22 

14 

II 

4 

12 

17 

II 

6 

17 
14 

10 

9 
6 

5 
IS 

6 
18 
10 
19 

9 
8 

3 
14 
19 
II 

19 
17 

15 

14 
IS 
S 
9 
24 
IS 
21 

14 
II 

14 

7 

14 
8 
10 
22 
17 
9 

SI 

7 

40 
16 
24 

38 
10 

19 
12 

19 

160 
80 
24 
67 

160 
92 

138 
83 
90 

Totals 

no 

106 

98 

"5 

128 

lOI 

130 

98 

894 

Normal 

Progress  Group 

I 

2 

3 

4 

S 

6 

7 

8 

Total 

Central 

Garfield 

Hawthorne 

Lincoln 

Longfellow 

LoweU 

Park 

Washington 

Whittier 

16 
23 
IS 
14 
26 

14 
34 
34 
21 

16 

13 
10 

7 
16 

14 
17 
23 
16 

IS 
14 
II 
12 

19 
18 
18 
23 
14 

13 
10 

9 

7 
20 

13 

2S 

9 
10 

17 

14 

6 

7 
26 
10 
18 
17 
17 

12 
19 

9 
19 

8 
18 

S 
13 

20 
9 

21 
21 

27 

29 
9 

24 
18 
10 

138 
III 

SI 

S6 

171 

116 

167 
HI 

91 

Totals 

197 

132 

144 

116 

132 

103 

98 

90 

1012 

Progress  of  the  Children  in  the  Schools        135 


TABLE  33  {continued) 
Retarded  Group 


I 

2 

3 

4 

5 

6 

7 

8 

Total 

Central 

Garfield 

Hawthorne 

Lincoln 

Longfellow 

Lowell 

Park 

Washington 

Whittier 

10 
8 
6 
4 

II 

S 

19 
8 

4 

4 
4 
6 

5 

5 

12 

9 
3 

3 
5 
3 
6 
6 
8 
16 
15 
7 

10 

14 

13 

7 

9 

7 

13 

13 

5 

6 
10 
8 
8 
8 
8 

14 
12 

I 

8 
6 

12 
14 

4 
19 
17 

4 

22 
9 

27 

7 
18 

13 
12 

17 
10 

19 

72 
68 
34 
43 
97 
54 
130 
74 
24 

Totals 

75 

48 

69 

91 

75 

84 

83 

71 

596 

All  Schools 


I 

2 

3 

4 

5 

6 

7 

8 

Total 

Accelerated     .... 
Normal  Progress    .    . 
Retarded 

no 
197 

75 

106 

132 

48 

98 

144 

69 

"5 
116 

91 

128 

132 

75 

lOI 

103 
84 

138 
98 
83 

98 
90 

71 

894 

1012 

596 

Total 

382 

286 

311 

322 

335 

288 

319 

259 

2502 

est,  and  each  decorated  with  a  placard  indicating  his  age,  *^ 
some  of  the  difficulties  of  group  instruction  would  be  indi- 
cated to  any  observer.  A  class  of  7A  pupils,  for  example, 
might  include  pupils  all  the  way  from  10  to  17  years  of  age 
—  a  range  nearly  equal  to  the  span  covered  by  the  entire 
elementary  school  course.  In  some  cases,  as  is  pointed  out 
in  another  chapter,  the  mental  capacity  range  in  single 
classrooms  is  nearly  as  great. 


136 


The  Boise  Survey 


9C 

M 

30 
25 

20, 

/Ok. 
0 

■_ 

■ 

1 

. 

^ 

0 

^__^^ 

nn 

H|^^^^^H 

7* 

6 

Fig. 

25- 

9  ^d'i     10     lOli 
Age  Distribution 

II      litt    12 

OF  Pupils  in 

i2)fc  ra 

Grade  4B 

ion 

i4ri 

In  Figure  25  the  age-range  of  pupils  in  Grade  4B  is  shown 
graphically.  The  youngest  pupil  is  7^;  the  oldest  is  14. 
While  this  is  not  a  single  room,  it  nevertheless  represents  the 
range  of  ages  among  the  pupils  in  Boise  who  are  doing  the 
same  kind  of  work,  and  within  the  same  period  of  time.  The 
pupils  to  the  left  of  the  chart,  up  to  9  years  of  age,  are 
young  for  their  class.  The  pupils  to  the  right,  above  10 
years  of  age,  are  over-age  for  their  class.  Many  of  these 
older  pupils  are  doubtless  repeating  the  work,  some  of  them 
for  the  second  or  third  time.  Others  are  merely  behind  in 
their  progress  due  to  sickness  or  other  causes.  Others  are 
behind  simply  because  they  lack  the  capacity  to  do  the 
work. 

Whatever  the  reasons  for  this  wide  distribution,  the 
effects  are  noticeable  throughout  the  schools.  Large,  over- 
grown pupils  are  in  association  with  younger  pupils.  This  is 
not  necessarily  an  undesirable  condition,  but  it  would  work 
[better  for  social  advancement  if  pupils  of  ^ual  ability  and 
'/equal  experience  associated  in  their  work.  "nBackward  pupils 
loften  carry  an  attitude  of  indifference,  which  is  psychologi- 
Ipally  bad  for  the  school.    The  bringing  of  retarded  pupils 


Progress  of  the  Children  in  the  Schools        137 

up  to  grade  constitutes  a  definite  social  and  educational  con- 
tribution on  the  part  of  the  teacher  who  accomplishes  the 
act.  This  refers,  of  course,  to  the  actual  improvement  of 
the  pupil,  and  not  merely  to  passing  him  along  to  the  next 
grade  irrespective  of  his  achievements. 

A  still  more  important  result  of  retardation  and  slow 
progress  is  the  loss  of  pupils  from  the  schools  because  of/ 
discouragement.  Many  pupils  drop  out  of  school  at  the 
sixth  or  seventh  grade.  The  reason  given  is  usually  one 
more  justifiable  than  discouragement,  yet  it  is  evident  in 
many  cases  that  the  pupil  would  have  continued  in  school 
had  he  felt  the  encouragement  of  success.  The  present ' 
value  placed  on  education  in  every  line  of  practical  endeavor 
makes  it  an  urgent  duty  of  the  schools  to  carry  all  pupils 
as  far  as  their  mental  capacity  permits.  The  school  should 
be  made  more  attractive  than  the  competing  offers  from  the 
commercial  world. 

CAUSES   OF   RETARDATION 

Probably  the  most  common  cause  of  school  retardation  is 
retarded  mental  development.  There  are  often  other  accom- 
panying conditions,  some  of  which  may  appear  to  be  the 
immediate  cause.  If  a  mentally  retarded  boy  is  also  physi- 
cally handicapped,  the  physical  defect,  because  it  is  more 
easily  observed,  is  likely  to  be  assigned  as  the  cause.  In- 
vestigations with  intelligence  tests  among  public  school 
children  have  shown  that  pupils  can  do  successfully  only 
work  which  is  within  the  limits  of  their  intelligence.  Sixth- 
grade  work,  for  example,  which  requires  approximately 
twelve-year  intelligence,  cannot  be  done  well  by  a  child 
whose  mental  development  is  but  ten  years. 

Among  the  "laggards"  shown  in  the  age-grade  table,  and       y 
especially  among  the  more  seriously  retarded  pupils,  will   ,/ 
be  found  many  who  are  really  up  to  grade  if  their  mental   ^ 
ages  were  used  as  the  basis  of  reckoning.    On  the  other 
hand,  among  this  same  group  of  laggards  may  be  found  some 
who  are  really  capable  of  doing  the  work  of  a  higher  grade, 


138  The  Boise  Survey 

but  who  are  being  held  back  merely  for  the  sake  of  the 
formal  requirements  of  the  school. 

A  recent  investigation  by  Dr.  Lewis  M.  Terman^  found 
that  children  who  are  in  grades  corresponding  to  their  men- 
^tal  ages  are  doing  work  of  an  average  quality.  The  stand- 
-  ards  for  mental  age-grade  classification  are  approximately 
^the  same  as  the  basis  on  which  we  have  calculated  the  age- 
grade  distribution  for  the  Boise  schools.  Where  children 
fall  below  these  mental  standards,  they  are  usually  found 
to  be  incapable  of  doing  the  work  of  their  normal  classmates, 
without  special  individual  instruction.  Dr.  Terman  also 
found  that  an  equal  injustice  was  being  worked  to  children 
who  are  held  back  below  the  grade  indicated  by  their  intel- 
ligence. The  promotion  of  pupils  on  the  basis  of  mental  age 
is  likely  to  become  the  practice  of  the  public  schools  of  the 
future, 
y  Physical  conditions  also  may  cause  retardation.  Eye, 
ear,  nose,  and  throat  trouble,  decayed  teeth,  etc.,  frequently 
prevent  the  normal  expression  of  intelligence  as  applied  to 
school  work.  A  very  large  proportion  of  physical  defects  is 
found  among  retarded  children.  While  there  is  a  tendency 
to  overestimate  the  effect  of  these  conditions  on  school  work, 
especially  where  low  intelligence  also  is  involved,  it  is  no 
less  important  that  all  remediable  defects  receive  the  atten- 
tion of  the  school  authorities. 
J  Another  cause  often  given  for  retardation  is  poor  home 
conditions.  Incompetent  or  indifferent  parents,  weak  super- 
vision, crowded  or  insanitary  living  quarters,  poverty,  etc., 
cannot  contribute  much  to  the  advancement  of  the  children. 
In  some  cases  the  children  are  called  upon  to  help  support 
the  family.  Frequently  sickness  and  disease  prevent  regu- 
lar attendance.  In  many  cases  the  quality  of  the  home 
reflects  the  intelligence  of  the  family.  These  facts  may  not 
be  so  much  the  cause  of  retardation  as  an  accompanying 
consequence  of  some  social  cause  lying  further  back. 

1  Terman,  Lewis  M.,  The  Intelligence  of  School  Children.     Houghton 
Mifflin  Company,  Boston,  1919. 


Progress  of  the  Children  in  the  Schools        139 


seveN  ve/tffs  |  e/etrr  ycaRs    \  nine  vs/ias 

TEN  YEaej 

ELEVEN  YEaPS 

Ages  of  Children  Enrolled  in  Beginning  Classes  of  Boise 

SCH00I3 


It  is  surprising  how  little  the  schools  know  about  the 
home  conditions  of  the  pupils,  and  of  the  relation  between 
these  conditions  and  school  progress.  The  bringing  of  the 
home  and  the  school  into  closer  relationship  cannot  fail  to 
help  in  correcting  the  bad  effects  of  retardation. 

Late  entering  of  school  does  not  appear  to  have  been  a 
serious  factor  in  causing  retardation  in  Boise.  The  dis- 
tribution of  ages  indicated  by  Figure  26  for  the  entering 
grade  indicates  that  nearly  all  the  children  begin  school  early 
enough  to  allow  for  their  continuance  within  the  normal  age 
limits  through  the  grades.  The  eight,  nine,  and  eleven-year- 
old  pupils  in  the  beginning  classes  are  for  the  most  part 
pupils  who  have  entered  at  the  usual  age,  but  who  have  failed 
to  pass. 

SUMMARY 

The  age-grade  distribution  suggests  that  Boise  occupies 
a  high  place  among  American  cities  with  reference  to  the 
grading  of  pupils  by  age.    The  proportion  of  retardation  is 


140  The  Boise  Survey 

23.5  per  cent  of  the  enrollment.  This  retardation,  although 
of  relatively  small  proportion,  extends  into  i-,  2-,  3-,  4-,  and 
5-year  groups.  The  effect  of  seriously  over-age  pupils  is 
detrimental  to  the  progress  of  the  schools.  There  are  many 
causes  for  retardation,  chief  among  which  is  the  wide  vari- 
ability of  children  in  mental  capacity.  The  schools  should 
inquire  into  the  specific  causes  for  individual  cases,  in 
order  that  a  proper  grading  and  classification  of  pupils  may 
be  maintained. 


CHAPTER  VII 

INDIVIDUAL   DIFFERENCES  AMONG 
THE  CHILDREN 

(Williams) 

THE  VARIABILITY  OF   CHILDREN 

IT  is  evident  that  the  present  organization  of  the  public 
schools  implies  an  abundance  of  faith  in  the  age  of  a 
given  child  as  the  basis  upon  which  his  education  is  to  pro- 
ceed. It  happens,  fortunately  enough,  that  the  use  of  this 
basis  is  not  incorrect,  scientifically.  Recent  psychological 
investigations  have  shown  that  mental  and  physical  develop- 
ment proceed,  in  the  main,  with  age.  The  average  child  of 
eleven  years  is  physically  and  mentally  ten  per  cent  in  ad- 
vance of  the  average  child  of  ten  years.  Every  year  of  age 
adds  a  year  of  physical  growth  and  intelligence  to  the  strictly 
normal  child.  Thus  when  children  are  grouped  together  by 
ages,  as  they  are  in  the  schools,  they  are  also  grouped, 
roughly,  into  comparable  divisions  as  regards  natural  de- 
velopment. 

The  unfortunate  feature  of  this  grouping  is  that  the  child 
who  happens  to  be  different  from  the  other  children  of  his 
age  is  required  to  suffer  the  consequences  of  being  incor- 
rectly placed.  They  are  the  "misfits"  of  the  existing  system. 
Yet  the  schools  exist  for  these  children  as  well  as  for  the 
great  majority  who  are  more  nearly  alike.  It  is  not  within 
the  power  of  most  of  these  exceptional  children  to  adjust 
themselves  to  the  system,  nor  is  it  proper  that  they  should 
be  made  to  do  so  if  they  could.  Such  children  are  found  in 
all  the  grades  of  the  Boise  schools,  and  may  have  been 
pointed  out  by  their  teachers  as  special  problems  which 
cannot  be  effectively  met  by  the  regular  school  procedure. 
It  is  the  purpose  of  this  chapter  to  indicate  the  extent  and 

141 


142  The  Boise  Survey 

significance  of  these  cases,  and  to  make  some  suggestions 
for  adjusting  the  schools  to  meet  individual  needs. 

MENTAL   DIFFERENCES 

A  blank  was  submitted  to  all  of  the  teachers,  on  which 
they  were  asked  to  indicate  the  intelligence  of  each  pupil, 
classifying  them  into  five  groups.  The  intelligence  groups 
were  named  and  defined  as  follows: 

Feeble-minded.  Incapable  of  profiting  normally  from  public  school 
instruction.  Will  not  develop  mentally  above  the  average  child  of 
twelve  years. 

Backward.    Mentally  dull,  below  normal,  but  not  feeble-nunded. 
With  special  help  could  receive  much  benefit  from  regular  instruction. 
Average.    Equal  to  the  average  child  of  the  same  age. 
Superior.    Noticeably  above  average,  among  the  brightest  20  per 
cent  of  the  population. 

Very  superior.  Among  the  brightest  3  or  4  per  cent  of  the  p)opula- 
tion. 

Each  teacher  was  requested  to  list  all  the  pupils  in  her 
room,  and  to  indicate  her  classification  of  each  child.  Table 
34  is  a  summary  of  the  data  obtained  from  all  schools  by 
grades. 

As  expected,  more  than  one  half  of  the  pupils  were  classi- 
fied as  average,  and  all  but  a  very  few  placed  in  the  adjacent 
groups.  The  feeble-minded  group  includes  18  pupils,  and 
the  very  superior  group  43  pupils.  These  proportions  were 
generally  found  in  the  classifications  by  individual  teachers, 
and  we  are  led  to  the  belief  that  the  terms  were  interpreted 
similarly  throughout  the  schools.  A  few  teachers  who  re- 
ported no  mental  differences  among  the  pupils,  making  them 
all  '^average"  or  ''superior,"  evidently  interpreted  the  classi- 
fication quite  differently  from  the  other  teachers.  The 
number  of  such  cases  was  too  small,  however,  seriously  to 
affect  the  general  classification. 

INTELLIGENCE  TESTING 

The  mental  differences  revealed  by  the  teachers'  classifi- 
cations, significant  as  they  are,  merely  suggest  the  still  more 


Individual  Differences  among  the  Children     143 


TABLE  34 

Teachers*  Estimates  of  Intelligence,  by  Grades 


Grade 

Feeble- 
minded 

Backward 

Average 

Superior 

Very 
Superior 

I 
2 
3 
4 
S 
6 

7 
8 

2 

7 
3 
2 

4 

72 

49 
42 
42 
44 
49 
54 

25 

256 
199 
201 
222 
242 
202 

234 
160 

31 
38 
40 
38 
43 
35 
36 
44 

3 

5 

10 

5 

4 

2 

3 
II 

Total  .    .    . 

18 

377 

1716 

305 

43 

important  differences  which  are  brought  out  by  tests  of  in- 
telligence. The  science  of  education  is  progressing  so 
rapidly  that  the  school  may  well  seek  the  most  accurate  and 
finely  graded  information  it  is  possible  to  obtain  for  each 
child.  We  measure  the  length,  volume,  and  weight  of  physi- 
cal substances;  we  measure  water,  light,  electricity,  gas,  air 
pressure,  temperature,  rate  of  travel,  and  many  other  things 
because  by  their  measurement  and  evaluation  we  are  enabled 
to  use  them  more  effectively  and  thus  contribute  to  more 
efficient  living.  For  the  same  reasons  it  is  desirable  to  learn 
as  much  as  possible  about  the  intelligence  of  school  children 
—  intelligence  being  the  most  important  single  factor  in 
their  school  achievement  and  life  success. 

The  measurement  of  intelligence  has  been  reduced  to  such 
simple  terms  that  it  is  within  the  range  of  all  schools.  The 
Binet-Simon  Scale,  a  series  of  tests  for  this  purpose,  should 
be  applied  in  all  cases  where  decisions  are  necessary  as  to 
the  mental  capacity  of  children.     It  would  be  still  more 


144  l^he  Boise  Survey 

desirable  to  have  intelligence  tests  made  regularly  of  all  the 
pupils  entering  the  schools.  So  much  depends  upon  intelli- 
gence that  the  neglect  of  this  important  factor  has  handi- 
capped the  education  of  many  children.  It  would  be  a  wise 
undertaking  to  have  tests  made  of  all  pupils  in  the  schools 
and  to  establish  standards  of  classification  and  promotion 
upon  the  basis  of  the  results  obtained.^ 

SUPERIOR  CHILDREN 

According  to  the  classification  made  by  the  teachers,  348 
pupils,  or  about  15  per  cent  of  the  enrollment,  are  of  su- 
perior intelligence.  Of  this  number  43  pupils  were  classified 
as  "very  superior,"  their  intelligence  being  so  marked  as  to 
place  them  "among  the  brightest  3  or  4  per  cent  of  the  popu- 
lation." Allowing  for  minor  errors  of  judgment,  there  is 
good  reason  to  believe  that  these  estimates  represent  as  true 
an  account  of  the  facts  in  Boise  as  it  would  be  possible  to 
obtain  without  extensive  psychological  testing. 

These  superior  children  are  distributed  throughout  the 
city,  each  school  and  each  grade  having  its  quota.  The 
majority  of  them  are  accelerated  in  their  school  progress  — 
i.  e.,  are  in  grades  beyond  average  pupils  of  the  same  age. 
This  accounts,  in  part,  for  the  acceleration  shown  in  the 
age-grade  table.  Some  of  them,  however,  are  not  acceler- 
ated, but  are  being  held  in  the  grades  indicated  by  their 
ages.  In  some  cases  there  is  actual  retardation  of  pupils 
classified  as  "superior"  by  their  teachers. 

There  are  several  reasons  why  some  children  of  superior 
intelligence  do  not  progress  more  rapidly  in  school.  In  some 
instances  sickness  or  physical  ailment  has  prevented  regular 
application  to  school  work.  In  some  cases  the  pupils  are 
"making  up"  work  lost  through  absence  or  transfer.    There 

1  Time  did  not  permit  the  extensive  use  of  intelligence  tests  during  the 
survey,  although  a  few  demonstration  tests  were  made.  Two  recent  books 
by  Dr.  Lewis  M.  Terman,  entitled  The  Measurement  of  Intelligence  and 
The  Intelligence  of  School  Children,  are  highly  recommended  to  those  who 
wisJi  to  acquaint  themselves  with  this  work. 


Individual  Differences  among  the  Children      145 

are  some  superior  children,  as  there  are  children  of  all  other 
degrees  of  intelligence,  who  do  not  try  to  apply  themselves 
to  the  fullest  extent  of  their  intelligence.  Frequently  parents 
object  to  the  promotion  of  their  children  more  rapidly  than 
the  traditional  rate.  Another  reason,  perhaps  the  most 
serious  of  all,  is  the  failure  of  the  schools  to  recognize  su- 
perior mental  capacity,  and  to  assign  pupils  to  the  grades 
which  are  best  suited  to  their  intelligence. 

Superior  children  contribute  a  valuable  asset  to  the  school 
system  and  to  the  community.  Recent  investigations  have 
shown  that  intelligence  is  a  fairly  constant  factor  throughout 
the  growing  period,  and  that  bright  children  retain  their 
brightness  and  become  bright  adults.  The  histories  of  many 
of  our  most  brilliant  men  and  women  reveal  the  fact  that 
they  indicated  their  superiority  when  they  were  school  chil- 
dren. Since  it  is  the  obligation  of  the  schools  to  serve  the 
community  as  effectively  as  possible,  it  should  be  considered 
a  prime  duty  to  provide  educational  opportunities  commen- 
surate with  the  intelligence  of  each  child.  Among  the  su- 
perior children  in  the  Boise  schools  are  some  who  will  be 
classed  among  our  leaders,  and  even  perhaps  among  our 
geniuses,  of  the  future. 

If  the  promotion  is  justified  by  actual  measurements  of 
intelligence,  there  is  no  reason  why  superior  children  should 
not  be  advanced  as  rapidly  as  their  intelligence  is  developing. 
In  some  cases  this  will  mean  advancing  them  until  they  are 
two,  three,  or  even  four  grades  ahead  of  other  children  of 
the  same  age.  Parents  are  sometimes  reluctant  to  agree  to 
rapid  promotion,  fearing  that  the  child's  health  will  be  in- 
jured by  overcrowding  his  mind.  There  is,  of  course,  grave 
danger  of  pushing  any  child  to  the  point  of  extreme  taxation 
of  his  mental  processes.  Overworking  the  mind  is  even 
more  serious  than  overworking  the  body.  It  should  be  re- 
membered, however,  that  a  child  of  eight  with  a  mental 
development  of  ten  years  is  mentally  equal  to  the  average 
child  two  years  older  than  himself.  It  is  not  a  mental 
burden  for  such  a  child  to  do  the  work  of  ten-year-olds.    In 


146  The  Boise  Survey 

fact,  it  may  be  much  more  in  keeping  with  his  normal  per- 
formance ability  to  advance  him,  than  to  keep  him  with  the 
eight-year-olds,  who  are  mentally  two  years  his  inferior. 
The  safety  valve  is  the  psychological  test  in  the  hands  of  a 
qualified  person. 

OPPORTUNITY  CLASSES  FOR  GIFTED  CHILDREN 

The  "skipping"  of  superior  pupils  through  a  series  of  in- 
flexible grades,  while  better  for  them  than  being  made  to 
adhere  to  a  system  which  prevents  the  normal  expression  of 
their  intelligence,  should  be  considered  but  a  temporary  ex- 
pedient. The  "opportunity  class"  for  very  bright  children 
has  now  passed  the  stage  of  experimentation.  Such  classes 
have  several  advantages  over  the  skipping  system.  Some  of 
these,  enumerated  by  Dr.  Terman,  are  as  follows : 

(i)  They  allow  children  to  make  rapid  progress  without  skipping 
vital  parts  of  the  subject  matter; 

(2)  They  allow  a  broadening  and  enriching  of  the  course  of  study 
because  of  the  larger  accomplishments  possible  to  superior  minds; 

(3)  They  are  a  discouragement  to  vanity  because  the  level  of  com- 
petition is  raised  and  the  measure  of  a  child's  success  depends 
upon  his  relative  standing  in  the  class; 

(4)  They  insure  the  mental  and  moral  training  which  can  come 
only  from  sustained  effort; 

(5)  They  furnish  an  atmosphere  which  is  intellectually  much  more 
stimulating  than  that  found  in  the  average  class; 

(6)  Since  they  bring  together  children  of  similar  age  and  attain- 
ments, they  go  far  to  solve  the  problem  of  social  adjustment. 

A  trial  class  of  this  kind  in  Boise  would  doubtless  meet 
with  success  no  less  surprising  than  has  been  obtained  in 
other  cities. 

BACKWARD  CHILDREN 

About  16  per  cent  of  the  enrollment,  377  individual  pupils, 
were  listed  by  their  teachers  in  the  "backward"  group.  Ac- 
cording to  the  instructions  given,  this  classification  includes 
those  who  are  mentally  dull,  but  not  feeble-minded.  It  was 
implied  that  teachers  should  not  list  pupils  as  backward  who 


Individual  Differences  among  the  Children      147 

were  merely  retarded  in  their  school  work,  but  only  those 
who  were  slightly  subnormal  in  mental  capacity. 

"Backward''  is  such  a  vague  term  as  it  is  used  in  schools 
that  any  group  of  pupils  so  designated  is  likely  to  contain 
all  kinds  of  pupils.  A  few  years  ago  the  writer  gave  intelli- 
gence tests  to  groups  of  "backward"  pupils  in  several  Cali- 
fornia cities,  and  found  intelligence  quotients  ranging  from 
50  to  108,  from  feeble-mindedness  to  superior  intelligence. 
It  is  not  improbable  that  tests  applied  to  the  377  "back- 
ward" pupils  of  Boise  would  reveal  a  similar  range  of  intelli- 
gence. 

One  reason  for  such  a  liberal  use  of  the  term  "back- 
ward" is  the  tendency  for  teachers  frequently  to  mistake 
backwardness  in  school  subjects  for  mental  weakness. 
While  nearly  all  mentally  dull  children  do  have  difficulty 
with  their  studies,  there  are  also  some  normal  and  even  su- 
perior children  who  fail  for  causes  where  lack  of  capacity 
is  not  involved.  Another  reason  is  the  reluctance  of  some 
teachers  to  use  the  term  "feeble-minded"  to  describe  chil- 
dren in  whom  they  recognize  symptoms  of  serious  mental 
weakness.  The  use  of  intelligence  tests  as  a  basis  for  classi- 
fication would  prevent  many  of  the  errors  now  made  in 
classifying  pupils. 

Although  there  are  many  degrees  of  backwardness,  we 
may  roughly  classify  backward  pupils  into  three  groups: 
( I )  those  who  are  mentally  normal,  or  nearly  so,  but  whose 
dullness  is  expressed  by  lagging  in  one  or  two  school  sub- 
jects; (2)  those  who  are  mentally  like  the  group  just  men- 
tioned, but  whose  dullness  is  indicated  by  a  rather  consistent 
lagging  in  nearly  all  school  subjects;  and  (3)  those  in  whom 
actual  subnormality  of  the  mental  processes  is  the  obvious 
condition,  rather  than  merely  failure  in  school  subjects.  It 
is  emphasized  that  all  these  groups  are  limited  to  pupils  who 
are  above  the  level  of  feeble-mindedness. 

BATAVIA   TEACHING   FOR   BACKWARD   PUPILS 

For  the  first  two  groups  the  plan  of  special  instruction, 


148  The  Boise  Survey 

without  segregating  in  permanent  special  classes,  has  met 
with  success  in  many  cities.  Several  methods  for  this  group 
have  been  devised,  all  of  them  being  based  chiefly  on  what 
is  known  as  the  "Batavia  plan."  By  this  plan  several 
teachers,  especially  skilled  in  the  teaching  of  individual 
school  subjects,  and  with  special  training  and  experience 
with  backward  children,  gather  the  pupils  from  the  different 
rooms  for  special  drilling  in  one  subject  at  a  time.  The 
first  period,  for  example,  may  be  devoted  to  arithmetic.  At 
this  time  the  teachers  send  to  the  Batavia  room  all  the  pupils 
who  have  recently  fallen  behind  in  arithmetic.  The  class 
will  be  made  up  of  pupils  from  several  different  grades,  but 
the  time  will  be  devoted  exclusively  to  helping  each  pupil 
with  the  work  which  he  has  failed  to  get  from  the  regular 
class.  At  the  end  of  the  period  the  pupils  pass  back  to  their 
rooms,  and  a  period  is  given  in  the  Batavia  room  to  the 
teaching  of  another  subject.  Any  individual  pupil  may  be 
sent  into  this  room  once,  twice,  or  for  a  week,  two  weeks,  or 
as  long  a  time  as  may  be  required.  The  supposition  is  that 
if  the  pupil  has  the  necessary  intelligence  he  will  soon  be 
caught  up  with  his  class  and  continue  under  his  regular 
teacher.  If  he  lacks  the  capacity  to  do  the  work,  even 
with  special  help  of  this  kind,  he  may  be  placed  in  a  lower 
grade  or  transferred  to  a  special  class.  Skillful  and  ener- 
getic Batavia  teachers,  with  the  supervision  of  a  good  prin- 
cipal, may  exert  much  influence  among  the  pupils  of  a 
school  and  materially  reduce  the  amount  of  retardation. 
The  plan  merits  a  liberal  trial  in  Boise. 


SPECIAL   CLASSES   FOR  BACKWARD  PUPILS 

Pupils  of  the  third  group,  those  whose  essential  condition 
is  subnormality,  should  neither  be  demoted  nor  should  they 
be  permitted  to  clog  the  Batavia  classes.  Achievement  in 
the  school  subjects  does  not  increase  mental  capacity,  and 
there  is  much  in  the  usual  school  curriculum  of  the  upper 
grades  that  is  best  not  taught  to  children  bordering  on  men- 


Individual  Differences  among  the  Children      149 

tal  deficiency.  Such  pupils  need  a  special  curriculum 
adapted  to  their  intellectual  development.  This  does  not 
mean  intensive  drilling  on  reading,  writing,  arithmetic,  etc., 
as  in  the  Batavia  rooms,  but  work  which  may  be  of  an  en- 
tirely different  sort  from  that  of  the  regular  grades. 

The  essential  aim  of  education  for  all  children,  normal 
and  subnormal,  should  be  training  for  the  practical  ad- 
justments of  life.  Whether  or  not  the  present  curriculum 
succeeds  in  doing  this  for  normal  children,  it  cannot  be  ex- 
pected to  function  with  children  who  do  not  have  intelligence 
enough  to  grasp  it,  or  to  use  it  effectively  after  leaving 
school.  The  subnormal  child  should  be  trained  specifically 
in  meeting  the  problems  of  the  world  in  which  he  is  to 
live.  While  some  occupations  require  a  high  degree  of  in- 
telligence, there  are  many  in  which  persons  of  subnormal 
development  can  successfully  compete,  if  properly  trained 
and  intelligently  guided.  In  these  occupations  reliance  is 
placed  chiefly  on  manual  skill.  In  shops,  factories,  and 
stores  where  efficient  supervision  is  provided  there  are  hun- 
dreds of  persons  of  subnormal  intelligence  attaining  success 
and  living  sober,  industrious  lives  through  the  encourage- 
ment afforded  by  their  vocational  achievement.  It  is  chil- 
dren for  whom  we  can  anticipate  such  careers  that  special 
classes  should  be  formed  in  the  Boise  schools. 

The  special  classes  should  be  under  the  direction  of 
special  teachers,  professionally  trained  in  the  teaching  of 
backward  children.  Some  teachers  now  engaged  in  regu- 
lar classroom  work  may  be  developed  for  this  special  ser- 
vice. They  should  have  more  than  the  usual  teacher  train- 
ing, however.  The  special  class  should  never  be  conceived 
as  simply  a  place  for  extra  fine  teaching  of  the  regular 
curriculum.  In  these  classes  the  use  of  tools,  different 
kinds  of  handwork,  cooking,  sewing,  etc.,  should  occupy 
the  greater  part  of  the  time.  The  regular  school  subjects,  if 
needed  at  all,  should  be  reduced  to  the  essential  minimum. 
The  classes  should  not  exceed  fifteen  pupils  at  the  most, 
because   individual   instruction,   not  group   work,   should 


ISO  The  Boise  Survey 

be  the  prevailing  method/  There  should  be  enough  of  these 
rooms  in  Boise  to  accommodate  every  backward  child  who 
cannot  be  reached  by  regular  methods  or  Batavia  teaching. 


FEEBLE-MINDED   CHILDREN 

Eighteen  pupils  were  classified  by  their  teachers  as  feeble- 
minded, being  "incapable  of  profiting  normally  from  public 
school  instruction,"  and  being  incapable  of  developing  men- 
tally above  the  level  reached  by  the  average  child  of  twelve 
years.  This  represents  about  eight  tenths  of  one  per  cent 
of  the  children  in  the  schools  at  the  time  of  the  survey. 
Most  of  these  children  are  over-age,  many  being  seriously 
retarded,  and  there  are  evidences  that  the  teachers'  judg- 
ments of  their  intellectual  grade  are  essentially  correct.  In 
some  instances  the  mental  deficiency  is  so  obvious  that  it 
would  not  require  a  psychological  examination  to  establish 
the  validity  of  the  teacher's  classification. 

There  is  also  reason  to  believe  that  the  teachers'  esti- 
mates with  respect  to  feeble-mindedness  have  been  too  con- 
servative. A  study  of  the  data  supplied  by  the  teachers  on 
all  classrooms  reveals  suspicions  of  mental  deficiency  where 
the  teacher  has  given  "backward"  as  the  classification.  In 
these  cases,  of  course,  the  teacher  has  played  safe  when  her 
mind  was  in  doubt,  and  in  the  absence  of  facilities  for  a 
psychological  diagnosis  her  choice  has  not  been  unfair.  The 
detecting  of  feeble-mindedness  is  a  difficult  matter,  even  for 
trained  persons.  Psychologists  never  attempt  to  diagnose 
intelligence  without  careful  examinations,  and  it  is  not  sur- 
prising that  teachers  were  often  in  doubt  in  making  the 
classifications  for  the  survey.^ 

1  It  is  recommended  that  the  special  classes  be  organized  and  equipped 
according  to  description  by  Dr.  H.  H.  Goddard  in  his  School  Training  of 
Defective  Children,  published  by  World  Book  Company,  Yonkers, 
New  York. 

'  Teachers'  opinions,  however,  are  considered  by  psychologists  as  being 
one  of  the  most  reliable  sources  of  supplementary  information  on  the  in- 
telligence of  school  children. 


Individual  Differences  among  the  Children      151 

Feeble-mindedness  is  a  social  problem  which  cannot  be 
successfully  met  by  the  public  schools  as  they  are  now  con- 
stituted. Feeble-minded  children  do  not  belong  in  the 
public  schools.  In  refusing  to  accept  mentally  defective 
children,  the  schools  can  assist  in  preventing  this  condition, 
by  making  it  necessary  for  the  state  to  take  prophylactic 
measures.  Every  feeble-minded  child  is  a  burden  to  society, 
and  it  is  the  urgent  duty  of  society,  not  to  give  him  a  smat- 
tering of  school  work  and  turn  him  loose  to  propagate  his 
kind,  but  to  place  him  in  an  institution  where  he  can  receive 
custodial  care  and  continuous  supervision  at  least  during  the 
reproductive  period  of  life. 

Our  prisons,  reformatories,  almshouses,  and  houses  of 
prostitution  are  teeming  with  feeble-minded  persons  for 
whom  the  public  schools  have  succeeded,  if  at  all,  only  in 
camouflaging  their  true  mental  condition.  It  would  be  well 
for  the  public  schools  to  take  a  definite  stand  regarding 
feeble-mindedness,  and  to  call  upon  the  state  to  make  it  im- 
possible for  feeble-minded  children  to  be  born. 

There  are,  and  always  will  be,  feeble-minded  children  of 
high  grade,  possessing  enough  intelligence  to  do  simple 
tasks,  and  even  capable  of  making  an  independent  living, 
under  supervision.  For  these  the  special  classes  can  do 
much  by  way  of  vocational  training.  There  are  probably 
several  such  cases  among  the  pupils  classified  as  backward. 
Procedure  should  be  based,  however,  on  the  diagnosis  of  a 
clinical  psychologist. 


EXAMPLES   OF   FEEBLE-MINDEDNESS 

During  the  survey  a  number  of  feeble-minded  children 
were  brought  to  the  attention  of  the  writer.  In  some  cases 
examinations  were  made.  Two  of  these  seem  of  sufficient 
interest  to  report  here.  One  is  a  feeble-minded  child  in  the 
third  grade,  struggling  along  with  the  regular  class,  but 
with  barely  enough  intelligence  to  do  the  work  of  the  first 
grade  well.    The  other  is  a  child  who  has  fortunately  been 


152  The  Boise  Survey 

refused  admittance  to  the  schools,  in  which  action  the  writer 
fully  agrees  with  the  school  authorities.  The  real  names  of 
the  children  are  not  used. 

Marie  S.  Age  10  years  2  months.  Is  in  Grade  3  B.  Physically 
normal,  fine  appearing,  and  would  never  be  suspected  of  being  other 
than  normal  mentally,  except  that  she  cannot  do  the  work  of  the 
grade.  Was  given  a  clinical  examination,  requiring  about  30 
minutes,  from  which  it  was  learned  that  her  mental  age  is  7  years 
and  2  months.  Her  intelligence  quotient  is  .72,  indicating  high- 
grade  feeble-mindedness.  The  tests  indicate  that  she  is  incapable 
of  doing  the  work  of  the  third  grade,  and  it  appears  that  she  has 
been  passed  without  good  reason.  She  should  be  placed  in  a  special 
class,  or  transferred  to  a  school  where  she  can  receive  special  train- 
ing suited  to  her  intelligence.  It  is  unlikely  that  she  will  ever  de- 
velop mentally  beyond  the  level  of  the  average  child  of  12  years. 
This  child  has  been  adopted  into  an  excellent  home,  but  despite 
the  care  bestowed  upon  her  has  never  shown  normal  intelligence. 
Her  mother  died  of  tuberculosis. 

Dora  G.  Age  8  years  9  months.  Tried  in  school,  but  was  returned 
home  and  refused  admittance  because  of  inability  to  learn  and 
repulsiveness  to  other  children.  Can  barely  talk,  using  mumbling 
sounds.  For  book  says  boo;  for  key,  gey;  watch,  wa;  coat,  doat; 
shoe,  du;  ten,  gen,  etc.  Unable  to  make  sentences  except  for  me- 
chanical repeating  of  simple  phrases  often  repeated  to  her.  Has 
been  defective  from  birth.  First  sat  up  when  one  year  of  age,  first 
walked  at  two  and  one-half  years,  first  repeated  words  at  seven  years. 
Cannot  yet  be  said  to  talk  intelligently.  Can  count  to  four  by  sounds 
intelligible  only  to  those  who  know  her.  Unable  to  handle  a  pencil 
better  than  to  make  uncoordinated  meaningless  marks. 

This  child  is  an  idiot,  or  at  best  a  low-grade  imbecile.  Her  in- 
telligence is  barely  that  of  a  child  of  two  years,  and  it  is  unlikely 
that  she  will  ever  develop  much  more.  Certainly  she  will  never 
become  normal,  by  any  process  of  education  or  training.  The 
parents,  as  is  often  the  case,  strongly  resent  the  suggestion  that 
Dora  is  in  any  way  different  from  other  children  and  make  strenu- 
ous efforts  to  teach  her  to  act  and  talk  normally.  So  obsessed  are 
they  with  the  idea  that  she  is  normal,  that  they  make  repeated 
efforts  to  make  the  school  authorities  look  at  the  case  in  the  same 
way.  The  bringing  of  the  child  to  the  writer  during  the  survey  was 
an  attempt  to  secure  evidence  from  the  survey  staff  to  substanti- 
ate the  claim  of  normality.  The  psychologist  was  strongly  rebuked 
by  the  mother  for  not  concurring  in  her  opinion,  although  the  test 
had  been  made  as  an  accommodation  to  her. 


Individual  Differences  among  the  Children     153 


TABLE  35 

Teachers'  Estimates  of  Conduct,  by  Grades 


Grade 

Lie 

Steal 

Truant 

Mischie- 
vous 

Immoral 

Fight 

Average 

Superior 

Total 

I 
2 
3 
4 
5 
6 

7 
8 

9 
10 

19 
8 

9 
10 

7 
5 

3 
3 
9 

I 

4 
6 
2 

I 
2 
7 
4 
2 
2 
12 
8 

36 
24 
33 
35 
34 
42 

33 
25 

II 
2 
6 
6 

2 

19 

2 

3 

2 
II 
12 

7 
6 

3 
2 
0 

294 
190 
177 
323 
254 
183 
197 
138 

59 
58 
57 
40 
50 
60 
70 
72 

415 
300 
320 
428 
359 
323 
329 
253 

Total     . 

77 

34 

38 

262 

51 

43 

1756 

466 

2727 

DIFFERENCES   IN    CONDUCT 

On  the  same  form  on  which  the  estimates  of  intelligence 
were  made,  the  teachers  were  asked  to  indicate  the  essential 
facts  regarding  the  conduct  of  each  child.  Most  of  the 
pupils,  as  expected,  were  marked  "average."  About  17  per 
cent,  or  466  individual  pupils,  were  marked  "superior."  Some 
300  pupils  were  reported  to  be  of  inferior  conduct,  being 
addicted  to  lying,  truancy,  mischief,  immorality  or  fighting. 
The  distribution,  by  grades,  is  shown  in  Table  35. 

In  this  classification,  as  in  the  intelligence  gradings,  the 
teachers  were  asked  to  be  conservative,  and  there  is  reason 
to  believe  that  most  of  them  were  extremely  careful,  espe- 
cially in  denoting  cases  of  bad  conduct.  The  terms  used 
are  subject  to  various  interpretation,  but  allowing  for  serious 
errors,  it  appears  that  the  accompanying  table  is  a  reliable 
picture  of  the  facts  of  conduct  among  the  Boise  school  chil- 
dren.   The  table  merits  detailed  study,  and  some  teachers 


154  The  Boise  Survey 

will  do  well  to  make  a  similar  survey  of  their  rooms  and 
make  more  detailed  observations. 


JUVENILE  DELINQUENCY  IN   THE  SCHOOLS 

It  may  seem  incredible  to  many  persons  that  the  figures 
of  the  foregoing  table  could  represent  actual  conditions  in 
the  Boise  schools.  It  is  not  so  surprising,  however,  when 
we  realize  that  more  than  90  per  cent  of  juvenile  delinquency 
has  its  origin  in  the  public  schools.  This  is  true  not  only  in 
Boise,  but  in  all  cities.  Lying,  stealing,  truancy,  mischief, 
immorality,  and  fighting  are  signs  of  potential,  if  not  actual, 
delinquency.  Case  histories  of  hundreds  of  juvenile  court 
cases  show  that  the  symptoms  were  present  in  just  such 
forms  when  the  children  attended  the  public  schools.  The 
more  serious  the  present  condition,  the  nearer  the  child  to 
the  juvenile  court. 

This  does  not  mean,  of  course,  that  all  the  children  re- 
ported by  their  teachers  for  unruliness  are  necessarily  bound 
to  become  delinquent.  All  rules  are  subject  to  infraction, 
and  any  child  at  some  time  may  be  guilty  of  irregular  con- 
duct. But  children  who  habitually  or  frequently  lie,  steal, 
run  away,  or  commit  immoral  acts,  are  repeating  the  his- 
tories of  children  who  have  become  delinquent.  It  is  there- 
fore the  duty  and  the  privilege  of  the  school  to  take  steps 
to  see  that  actual  delinquency  does  not  occur.  Principals 
and  teachers  should  learn  more  of  juvenile  delinquency  and 
its  causes.  Special  observation  and  study  should  be  made 
of  children  who  depart  seriously  from  ordinary  conduct. 
The  home  conditions  should  be  inquired  into,  the  child 
should  receive  a  psychological  examination,  and  every  effort 
should  be  made  to  correct  wrong  conditions  which  come 
under  the  authority  of  the  schools.  Where  the  school 
authority  is  not  sufficient,  cooperation  should  be  given  to 
those  with  whom  the  matter  rests. 

We  are  rapidly  approaching  the  time  when  juvenile  de- 
linquency will  be  looked  upon  as  primarily  an  educational 


Individual  Differences  among  the  Children     155 

problem.  Already  steps  are  being  taken  to  extend  the 
authority  and  scope  of  the  public  schools  to  include  chil- 
dren whose  irregular  conduct  now  automatically  takes  them 
to  the  juvenile  court.  Our  courts  and  industrial  schools  are 
crowded  to  capacity,  and  the  belief  is  being  generally 
accepted  that  many  of  these  children  could  have  been  kept 
from  the  court  had  their  individual  cases  been  better  under- 
stood by  the  public  schools.  Organized  effort  on  the  part 
of  teachers  and  principals  toward  the  study  of  this  problem 
should  go  far  in  preventing  delinquency. 


DEPENDENT   CHILDREN 

Dependency  is  a  condition  of  inadequate  or  incompetent 
parental  care.  Children  so  declared  by  legal  process  are 
usually  placed  in  the  custody  of  private  or  public  agencies. 
The  education  of  these  children  becomes  very  important, 
because  of  their  greater  susceptibility  toward  delinquency 
and  other  social  irregularity.  In  some  cases  delinquency  has 
actually  begun  before  the  law  recognizes  the  condition  of 
dependency.  Feeble-mindedness  is  relatively  frequent 
among  dependent  children,  because  of  the  inheritance  of  the 
mental  weakness  that  prevents  the  stability  of  many  homes. 
Where  the  children  are  placed  in  other  homes,  there  is 
always  danger  of  neglect,  abuse,  and  other  conditions  which 
are  related  to  the  child's  education. 

An  interesting  group  of  dependent  children  forms  one  of 
the  classes  of  the  Boise  schools,  located  at  the  Children's 
Home.  One  full-time  teacher  is  employed  for  this  purpose, 
being  a  regular  member  of  the  teaching  staff,  and  under  the 
supervision  of  the  city  superintendent  of  schools.  At  the 
time  of  the  survey  an  extra  teacher  had  been  employed  for 
part  time. 

The  schoolroom  contained  33  desks,  crowded  together  in  a 
small  room,  all  occupied,  and  with  three  extra  pupils  sitting 
on  the  front  seats  without  desks.  The  seats  are  all  adjust- 
able but  were  not  adjusted.    The  pupils  were  using  slates, 


156  The  Boise  Survey 

most  of  which  were  broken  and  some  of  which  were  merely 
pieces  of  slate  without  frames.  The  slates  were  dirty  and 
foul-smelling  and  were  anything  but  an  encouragement  to 
neatness  and  order.  The  pupils  had  short,  broken  pencils, 
many  of  which  were  so  short  as  to  cramp  the  hands.  All 
grades  were  represented,  i  to  8  inclusive,  and  the  ages,  sizes, 
and  levels  of  intelligence  were  apparently  as  varied  as  one 
could  well  imagine.  The  room  is  lighted  from  the  left  and 
front  with  large,  ample  windows,  all  of  which  were  tightly 
closed  at  the  time  of  the  writer^s  visit,  a  warm  spring  day. 
The  room  was  decorated  with  the  art  work  of  the  pupils,  the 
quality  of  which  was  a  credit  to  the  teacher. 

The  work  of  this  room  was  conducted  in  a  mechanical, 
hasty  manner,  being  handicapped  by  all  the  limitations  of 
an  overcrowded  one-teacher  rural  school.  It  appears  that 
whatever  the  children  learned  was  in  spite  of  the  school 
rather  than  because  of  it.  Although  an  attempt  is  made  to 
follow  the  city  course  of  study,  liberties  have  been  taken 
entirely  in  keeping  with  the  difficulties  under  which  the 
teacher  worked.  A  visitor  could  hardly  fail  to  observe  the 
contrast  between  this  room  and  the  better-equipped  rooms 
of  the  regular  schools.  A  recitation  in  spelling  was  in  prog- 
ress at  the  time  of  the  writer's  visit.  The  following  words 
selected  from  the  dictionary  by  the  teacher  and  grouped  as 
shown,  were  used  by  all  grades: 

hasty,  rash,  impulsive, 
tame,  docile,  teachable, 
holy,  divine,  sacred, 
shame,  disgrace,  dishonor, 
shine,  gleam,  glitter, 
fill,  cram,  gorge, 
dark,  gloomy,  dismal, 
inert,  lifeless,  sluggish. 

The  pupils  had  diligently  sought  these  words  in  the  dic- 
tionary, and  were  required  to  spell  and  technically  define 
each.  The  definitions,  for  the  most  part,  were  repeated  me- 
chanically, with  little  comprehension  of  the  meaning.    In 


Individual  Differences  among  the  Children     157 

some  cases  it  seemed  fortunate  that  the  child  expended  little 
effort  to  connect  the  meaning  of  the  word  with  the  practical 
necessities  of  life. 

The  foregoing  description  is  not  intended  as  a  criticism. 
There  is  probably  no  more  conscientious,  and  certainly  no 
more  hard-working,  teacher  in  the  entire  city  than  the 
teacher  of  this  room.  It  is  physically  and  mentally  impos- 
sible consistently  to  adopt  up-to-date  methods  in  a  room 
which  might  better  have  fitted  an  eighteenth-century  school. 

The  "overflow"  room  of  this  school,  for  which  a  part-time 
teacher  is  employed,  was  almost  devoid  of  equipment,  and 
was  worse  than  makeshift.  An  advantage  was  afforded  by 
its  proximity  to  a  large  screened  porch,  which  would  make 
an  excellent  open-air  room.  As  in  the  main  room,  the  pupils 
come  and  go  irregularly,  as  the  home  is  a  place  of  temporary 
detention  in  the  case  of  some  of  the  children.  These  con- 
ditions make  teaching  especially  difficult,  even  where  normal 
equipment  is  provided. 

The  education  of  these  unfortunate  children  should  be 
considered  an  obligation,  not  an  act  of  charity.  All  ad- 
vantages of  the  school  system,  with  its  best  supervision,  be- 
long as  much  to  these  as  to  the  other  pupils.  If  the  oppor- 
tunities cannot  be  made  equal  by  teaching  at  the  institution, 
the  children  should  be  transferred  to  the  regular  schools.  If 
such  transportation  is  not  feasible,  the  institution  should  be 
equipped,  at  the  expense  of  the  public  schools,  with  school- 
rooms and  equipment  equal  to  the  best  in  the  city.  Two 
classrooms,  with  two  full-time  teachers,  should  be  pro- 
vided. The  same  standards  of  equipment  and  procedure 
which  are  held  for  all  the  schools  should  also  apply  to  these. 
It  would  be  well  in  keeping  with  the  importance  of  the 
problem  to  assign  the  two  best  teachers  in  the  city  to  these 
classes.  Owing  to  the  great  variability  of  dependent  chil- 
dren, psychological  examinations  should  be  made  of  all  who 
come  to  the  Home.  Backward  pupils  found  here  should 
attend  special  classes,  as  in  the  other  schools. 


iS8  The  Boise  Survey 

PHYSICALLY   HANDICAPPED   CHILDREN 

Scattered  through  the  schools  were  observed  children  who 
are  prevented  from  receiving  the  full  benefit  of  the  regular 
classes  by  reason  of  physical  handicaps.  A  special  class, 
centrally  located,  could  care  for  children  who  are  crippled, 
who  are  partially  or  wholly  deaf,  who  stutter  or  stammer, 
and  who  have  seriously  defective  vision.  The  struggle  made 
by  such  children  for  an  education,  attended  by  constant 
embarrassment  and  hardship,  is  little  appreciated  by  those 
who  are  more  fortunately  equipped. 

RESEARCH   WORK  IN   THE   SCHOOLS 

The  topics  touched  upon  in  this  chapter  are  suggestive  of 
the  hundreds  of  problems  which  confront  the  modern  public 
school.  We  have  ceased  to  look  upon  the  school  as  merely 
a  convenient  means  for  cramming  facts  of  knowledge  into 
children's  brains,  but  have  come  to  regard  it  as  one  of  the 
most  essential  elements  of  civilization.  There  is  no  phase  of 
public  welfare  which  does  not  relate  to  the  public  schools. 
The  service  which  the  schools  are  called  upon  to  perform 
is  no  simple  task.  The  community  should  demand,  not  a 
traditional  set  of  schools,  but  an  energy-producing  organiza- 
tion whose  vitality  reaches  into  every  phase  of  our  local, 
state,  and  national  existence.  The  schools  should  become 
laboratories  for  the  study  of  these  problems,  so  that  as  each 
child  passes  through  the  schools  the  facts  regarding  his  de- 
velopment, his  differences,  his  weaknesses,  his  strength,  may 
be  set  in  order  and  interpreted  for  the  benefit  of  those  who 
will  follow.  We  must  do  in  education  what  has  been  done 
in  other  lines  of  human  endeavor  —  in  mechanics,  in  agri- 
culture, in  chemistry,  in  medicine.  We  must  learn  new 
facts  by  making  careful  study  of  the  facts  now  before  us. 

To  this  end  every  effort  should  be  made  to  collect  and  in- 
terpret the  facts,  need  for  which  this  report  has  made  evi- 
dent and  in  the  near  future  the  city  might  well  look  forward 
to  the  establishment  in  the  schools  of  a  department  of 


Individual  Differences  among  the  Children     159 

research.  Such  a  department  should  be  equipped  to  make 
a  continuous  survey  of  the  school  system.  Facilities  should 
be  provided  for  obtaining  the  mental,  physical,  and  socio- 
logical facts  concerning  each  child.  The  information  should 
be  systematically  kept  and  classified  for  analysis  and  inter- 
pretation. The  superintendent  could  call  on  this  depart- 
ment for  exact  data  regarding  any  phase  of  the  school  sys- 
tem. He  should  be  able,  through  the  facts  presented,  to 
know  exactly  what  progress  is  being  made  in  sixth-grade 
arithmetic,  which  school  is  making  the  best  record  in  spell- 
ing; how  the  age-grade  distribution  compares  with  other 
cities;  how  many  pupils  could  advance  more  rapidly  in 
"opportunity  classes";  how  many  children  come  from 
homes  in  which  there  is  need  of  attention;  what  is  needed 
in  the  community  for  Americanization  work;  how  the  school 
tax  can  be  distributed  more  efficiently,  and  the  answers  to 
many  other  questions  which  have  to  do  with  the  efficiency 
of  the  schools.  Any  principal  could  call  for  a  special  diag- 
nosis of  each  child  and  for  recommendations  regarding  the 
child^s  probable  development.  The  possibilities  for  valuable 
work  of  this  sort  are  limited  only  by  the  effort  expended. 

A  department  of  research,  if  properly  conducted,  would 
keep  the  Boise  schools  at  a  continual  high  level  of  effi- 
ciency, and  would  probably  do  more  than  any  other  depart- 
ment in  placing  the  city  educationally  among  the  foremost 
of  the  country.  The  department  should  be  under  the  direc- 
tion of  a  clinical  psychologist,  who  should  be  assisted  by 
trained  workers  in  the  different  phases  of  the  problem  at- 
tacked. The  size  of  the  staff  would  depend  upon  the  ex- 
tent of  the  desired  information.  Experience  elsewhere  has 
shown  that  better  teaching,  better  supervision,  better  grad- 
ing, greater  interest  among  the  pupils,  and  a  better  commu- 
nity "spirit"  toward  the  schools  usually  result  from  the 
introduction  of  this  work. 


i6o  The  Boise  Survey 

.    SUMMARY   AND   RECOMMENDATIONS 

This  chapter  has  presented  some  of  the  facts  relative  to 
exceptional  children.  The  use  of  individual  differences  as 
a  basis  for  classification  and  grading  is  rapidly  becoming 
the  practice  of  progressive  school  systems.  Information 
supplied  by  the  teachers  revealed  the  presence  in  the  Boise 
schools  of  several  groups  of  exceptional  children.  While 
attempts  are  now  being  made  to  place  these  pupils  in  the 
best  way  possible,  the  present  system  does  not  permit  of 
the  classification  which  ought  to  be  obtained.  Special 
classes  should  be  formed  for  children  of  marked  superior 
intelligence  and  for  subnormal  children.  The  work  of 
these  classes  should  be  adapted  to  the  exceptional  capacities 
and  limitations  revealed  by  psychological  examinations. 
Special  teaching  on  the  Batavia  plan  should  be  provided 
for  children  who  are  backward  in  the  school  subjects. 
Feeble-minded  children  who  are  incapable  of  profiting  from 
school  instruction  should  be  excluded  from  the  schools  and 
placed  in  institutions.  Pupils  whose  conduct  indicates  that 
delinquency  is  imminent  should  be  given  special  attention 
to  prevent  the  necessity  for  action  by  the  juvenile  court. 
Teachers  should  become  informed  on  the  subject  of  juvenile 
delinquency  and  its  causes.  The  work  at  the  Children's 
Home  should  be  placed  on  the  same  basis  as  the  work  of  the 
other  schools,  and  two  full-time  teachers  should  be  assigned 
to  that  institution.  Inquiry  should  be  made  as  to  the  feasi- 
bility of  establishing  a  special  class  for  children  who  are 
physically  handicapped.  It  is  recommended  that  steps  be 
taken  to  establish  a  department  of  research  for  the  study  of 
problems  related  to  the  efficiency  of  the  schools. 


CHAPTER  VIII 

THE   CHILDREN'S   HEALTH 
(Williams) 

WHAT  BOISE  IS  DOING 

HEALTH  work  in  the  Boise  schools  is  supervised  by 
one  full-time  nurse,  with  the  cooperation  of  local  phy- 
sicians. The  survey  staff  is  of  the  opinion  that  the  resulting 
supervision  is  excellently  done,  in  proportion  to  the  invest- 
ment which  the  city  annually  makes  for  this  work.  At  the 
time  of  the  survey  it  happened  that  the  school  nurse  was 
undergoing  treatment  in  a  local  hospital  following  a  tem- 
porary breakdown  due  chiefly  to  her  activities  in  connection 
with  the  influenza  epidemic.  But  for  her  unselfish  devotion 
to  the  schools  at  that  time,  the  epidemic  in  Boise  might  have 
assumed  far  greater  proportions.  The  information  for  this 
section  was  obtained  from  a  personal  interview  at  the  hos- 
pital, subsequent  checking  over  of  records,  and  the  coopera- 
tion of  the  superintendent  and  teachers. 

The  school  nurse  divides  her  time  between  examinations 
at  the  schools  and  visits  to  the  children's  homes.  The  lack 
of  clerical  assistance  has  impaired  the  keeping  of  more  ex- 
tensive records,  and  it  is  evident  that  the  statistical  data 
found  are  too  meager  adequately  to  represent  the  work  actu- 
ally accomplished.  A  busy  nurse  has  little  time  for  clerical 
work,  and  can  be  of  more  value  to  the  school  by  pursuing 
the  work  for  which  she  is  trained.  Several  of  the  forms  used 
are  herewith  reproduced.  The  forms  have  been  lettered 
arbitrarily  A,  B,  C,  etc.,  for  purposes  of  this  discussion. 

The  school  physical  examinations  are  conducted  as  fol- 
lows: The  nurse  enters  the  schoolroom  (preferably  in  the 
morning)  and  asks  the  children  to  stand.  At  that  time  she 
notes  any  defects  of  posture.    She  then  passes  down  each 

i6i 


l62 


The  Boise  Survey 


BOISE  PUBLIC  SCHOOLS 

PHYSICAL  EXAMINATION 


Name 


Grade-i- 


Address 


SchooL 


Date  of  Birth- 
Weight  


—Date  Examtned. 


Hd^ 


Nutrition 


Enlarged.  Glands 


Nervous  Disorder 
Cardiac  Disorder- 


Pulmonary  Disorder 

Skin  Disorder 

G>ntagion 


Defective .  Vision.  ^ — 

Disease  of  Eye 

Defective  Hearing  — 

Disease  of  Ear 

Nasal  Breathing 

Defective  Teeth 

Hyp.  Tonsils 

Adenoids 

Vaccination  

Exclusion 


Readmission. 


FOKM  A 


aisle,  making  a  hasty  inspection  of  each  pupil,  noting  clean- 
liness of  face  and  hands,  skin  disorder,  enlarged  glands, 
nervousness,  mouth  breathing,  discharging  ears,  suspicions 


The  Children's  Health  163 


PUBLIC  SCHOOLS.  BOISE,  IDAHO 
DEPARTMENT  SCHOOL  HT6IENE 


Take  this  ctfd  at  ooceto  your  Physician  { then  bring  it  back  to  your  Principal 

19 


Name .  Addrns. 


School Room . 


The  Physician  who  examines,  the  above  named  pupil  is  respectfully  requested  to  date,  sign 
and  return  this  card  to  the  child. 

Please  also  record  diagno;>is  on'the  reverse  sJl^Ie  of  this  card.  This  diagnosis  is  desired  for 
the  school,  and  the  co-opetation  of  physicians  is  earnestly  requested  in  order  that  our  records 
may  be  complete  and  accurate. 

(OVER) 


Upett  examination  9/ the  child  named  berean  on  the—. day  of 


,  19 ,  /  make  the  following  diagnosis. 


(Please  mie  vbetber  glaMct  vk  ordered,  or  if  operuion  bai  beea  dedded  apou.) 


and  have  this day  of^—. — 19 begun  treatment. 


M.  D. 


Form  B 


of  eye  trouble,  signs  of  colds,  etc.  Each  pupil  showing 
physical  irregularities  of  any  kind  is  then  sent  to  the  prin- 
cipal's office,  or  into  the  corridor  (there  being  no  nurse's 
room).  She  then  makes  individual  examinations  of  these 
pupils,  with  special  attention  to  the  condition  noted  or  sus- 


164  The  Boise  Survey 


PUBLIC  SCHOOLS.  BOISE.  IDAHO 

DEPARTMENJT    OF    HYGIENE 


Tq  the  Parent  or  Guardian  of — 

Public  School  No.^ 

Health  examination  of  your  child  by  the  nurse  of  the  Depart- 
ment of  Hygiene  shows  that he  needs  medical  attention. 

Please  call  at . ...school  on _ _ 

at    ;.o*cl6ck  to  confer  with  the  Health  Supervisor. 

Date       . -.. -. 


Principal. 


Form  C 

pected.  As  time  permits,  however,  an  individual  examina- 
tion is  made  of  each  pupil,  following  the  outlines  in  Form  A. 
Pupils  who  show  special  defects  or  signs  of  contagion  or 
infection  are  sent  home  with  a  note  to  the  parent,  requesting 
an  examination  and  a  signed  statement  (Form  B)  from  a 
physician.  In  cases  requiring  consultation  with  the  parent, 
the  principal  notifies  the  parent  on  Form  C.  The  nurse 
makes  daily  reports  to  the  superintendent,  a  representative 
sample  of  which  is  shown  on  Form  D.  Tabulation  of  daily 
examinations  is  made  on  the  cumulative  record  card  (Form 
E),  which  shows  the  history  of  each  child's  health  from  year 
to  year  as  he  progresses  through  the  schools. 

A  summary  of  the  past  year's  work  is  shown  in  Table  36, 
made  up  from  the  daily  reports  transmitted  to  the  superin- 
tendent's office.  The  nurse  made  222  visits  to  the  schools, 
made  2439  examinations,  excluded  87  cases,  and  recom- 
mended treatment  for  298  pupils.  It  is  significant  that  290 
of  these  cases  actually  received  treatment.  The  value  of 
the  work  can  be  appreciated  when  we  realize  that  the  vast 
majority  of  the  illness  and  defects  treated  would  probably 
have  escaped  the  attention  of  teachers  and  parents  had  it 


The  Children's  Health  165 


DAILY  REPORT 

CLASS  ROOM  EXAMINATIONS 
BOISE  PUBLIC  SCHOOLS 

No. 

No.-  of  Visits  to  Schools  X 

No.  of  Pupils  Examined   /  C 

No.  of  Pupils  Excluded 

No.  of  Classroom  inspections   I0  ff  <^ 

Recommendations  for  Treatment   "Th^-  X^^^-^-^  ' 

DEFECTS  FOUND  ;J^ri;i^;Jj?-  ^ 

Decayed  Teeth  9 
Tonsils— Hypertrophy  of  ^ 
Eye— Defective  Vision 

Other  Defects 
Glands— Enlargement  of 
Adenoids 

Nasal  Breathing  Impaired 
Anemia 
Nutrition 
Skin  Disease 
Ear- Hearing  Impaired    / 

Discharging 
Goitre    / 
Heart  Disease 
Other  Defects 
Contagious  Disease 


HOMES  VISITED. nU       ^    r.^^ 


GERTRUDE  CRAGIN, 

School  Nurse. 

Form  D 


1 66 


The  Boise  Survey 


it 

Xil 

1 
1 

II 

o  < 

"-C 

.. 

j 

1 

X 

I 

H 

1 

1 

M 

GO 

2 
• 
Q 

1 

i 

X 

8 
1 

a 

1 

o 

I 

.8 
O 

z 

• 

Q 

1 
.3 

• 
O 

"3 
a* 

i 

.5 

1 

J 

.2 
> 

2 

GO 

O 

.2 
Q 

7 

•c 

1 

z 

J9 

t 

X 

."2 

1 

< 

1 

1 

1 

1 

Cll 

if 

•  1 

u 


TABLE  36.     Summary  of  Daily  Reports  of  School  Nurse  on  Class- 
room Examinations  for  the  School  Year  1918-19 


No.  of  visits  to  schools 

No.  of  pupils  examined 

No.  of  pupils  excluded 

No.  of  classroom  inspections 

Reconmiendations  for  treatment     .    .    . 

Medical  and  surgical      

Dental 

Home 

Treatment  given 

Defects  Found: 

Decayed  teeth 

Tonsils  —  hypertrophy  of 

Eye  —  defective  vision 

other  defects 

Glands  —  enlargement  of 

Adenoids  (five  more  suspected)    .    .    . 

Nasal  breathing  impaired 

Anemia 

Nutrition     .   .   . 

Skin  disease 

Ear  —  hearing  impaired 

discharging 

Goiter 

Heart  disease 

Other  defects 

Contagious  disease 

Exclusions: 

Desquamation 

Chicken  pox 

Eruption 

Headache 

Anemic 

Itch 

Barber's  itch 

Nausea 

Pediculosis 

Pink  eye 

Poison  ivy 

Scarlet  fever 

Smallpox 

Severe  cold 

Spanish  influenza 

Temperature 

Tonsillitis 

Vomiting 

Whooping  cough 

Toothbrush  Drill  —  buildings 

Homes  Visited  —  old 

new 

167 


Sept.  16 
to  Oct.  17 


61 

481 

21 

173 
298 


25 

91 
87 
15 
SI 
4 

2 

I 

4 

30 

I 
I 

3 

2 

10 

2 
4 
3 


8 
SO 


Dec.  2 
to  May  13 


161 

1958 

66 

84s 

370 
363 
399 
265 

364 

162 

60 

24 

12 

4S 
16 

S 

9 

S3 

26 

12 

7 

20 
7 


9 

31 

24S 


1 68  The  Boise  Survey 

-PUPILS  EX/JMINED    2430- 


^eXCLUJ/0N3  07 

Fig.  27.    Results  of  Examinations  by  School  Nurse,  1918-19 

not  been  for  the  nurse^s  examinations.  Preventive  work  in 
these  cases  alone  would  justify  many  times  over  the  amount 
expended  for  health  supervision. 

The  numerous  defects  found  and  the  reasons  listed  for 
exclusion  from  school  are  suggestive  of  the  duty  which  the 
city  owes  to  its  children.  Figure  27  shows  graphically  the 
extent  to  which  the  schools  contain  children  who,  without 
special  treatment,  may  contaminate  or  impair  the  efficiency 
of  the  entire  school  system.  Health  supervision,  with  the 
intelligent  cooperation  of  teachers  and  parents,  prevents 
untold  suffering  and  actually  preserves  the  lives  and  effi- 
ciency of  future  citizens. 

ADDITIONAL   NURSES   NEEDED 

Health  supervision  in  Boise  is  too  great  and  too  important 
a  task  to  shoulder  on  a  single  school  nurse.  She  must  nec- 
essarily work  hurriedly  and  limit  herself  to  the  most  urgent 
cases.  One  nurse  for  each  1000  pupils  would  be  much  better, 
and  the  results  would  probably  more  than  justify  the  addi- 
tional cost.  Three  school  nurses,  each  with  three  elementary 
schools  and  a  share  of  high  school  work,  would  be  a  wise 
provision.  The  minimum  improvement  should  be  one  ad- 
ditional nurse,  who,  in  addition  to  assistance  in  health  in- 
spection work  should  be  used  in  home  visiting  and  for 
assisting  in  the  management  of  attendance,  as  suggested  in 
Chapter  II.  Extra  provision  for  clerical  assistance  is  also 
needed.  The  keeping  of  records  is  second  only  to  the  actual 
supervision  of  the  children's  health.  The  inspection  of  these 
records  will  often  save  time  and  money.  They  also  serve  as 
a  permanent  cumulative  record  of  the  health  conditions  of 


The  Children's  Health  169 

the  city.  The  present  school  nurse  is  capable  of  directing 
the  work  of  one  or  more  assistants  and  supervising  the 
clerical  work.  The  energy  and  enthusiasm  which  she  has 
already  put  into  the  work  should  be  an  inspiration  to  her 
associates  and  to  the  teachers,  upon  whose  cooperation  so 
much  depends. 


A  BRIEF   HEALTH   SURVEY  BY   THE   TEACHERS 

Although  the  reports  of  the  school  nurse  reveal  conditions 
based  upon  professional  inspection,  and  must  therefore  be 
considered  the  official  source  of  information,  it  was  desired 
to  have  each  teacher  make  a  brief  survey  of  her  room,  and 
to  report  the  observation  which  she  and  her  pupils  made. 
The  following  questionnaire  was  used,  a  copy  being  sent  to 
each  teacher  in  the  elementary  schools: 

Boise  School  Survey 
May,  1919 

Fonn  B     (One  for  each  teacher) 
Teacher's  Survey  of  Health  and  Physical  Conditions 

School Teacher Grade Pupils 

Part  I.    Fill  out  without  asking  children.    Be  accurate. 

1.  Number  of  pupils  who  have  frequent  or  chronic  diflSculty  in  breathing 

through  the  nose. 

2.  No.  who  have  frequent  or  chronic  nasal  discharge. 

3.  No.  showing  signs  of  imperfect  hearing. 

4.  No.  who  stutter  or  stammer. 

5.  No.  showing  defects  of  eyes  or  vision. 

6.  No.  whose  vision  has  been  tested  this  year. 

7.  No.  who  wear  glasses  regularly. 

8.  No.  who  show  nervous  irritability,  timidity,  tendency  to  worry,  cryin? 

without  cause,  etc. 

9.  No.  who  show  signs  of  moral  weakness. 

10.  No.  who  show  marked  lack  of  mental  alertness. 

11.  No.  who  show  unusual  mental  alertness. 

12.  No.  lacking  in  play  ability. 

13.  No.  delicate  or  frequently  ill. 

14.  No.  whose  posture  (sitting  or  standing)  is  faulty. 


1 70  The  Boise  Survey 

Part  II.    Ask  the  children  the  following  questions  and  record  the  results. 
Be  seriouSy  and  secure  as  accurate  results  as  possible. 

1.  How  many  have  headache  often?  (2  or  3  tunes  a  month.) 

2.  How  many  have  earache  often?  (2  or  3  times  a  month.) 

3.  How  many  have  sore  throats  or  colds  often? 

4.  How  many  have  had  tonsils  or  adenoids  removed? 

5.  How  many  have  had  tonsils  or  adenoids  removed  during  the  past  year? 

6.  How  many  cannot  easily  read  the  writing  on  the  blackboard? 

7.  For  how  many  does  the  print  in  the  book  seem  to  blur,  nm  together,  or 

look  black? 

8.  How  many  have  ever  gone  to  a  dentist? 

9.  How  many  have  done  so  during  the  past  year? 

10.  How  many  have  a  toothbrush? 

11.  How  many  have  toothache  often? 

12.  How  many  usually  come  to  school  without  breakfast? 

13.  How  many  do  not  usually  eat  lunch? 

The  reports,  summarized  in  Table  37,  furnish  an  interest- 
ing and  valuable  supplement  to  the  findings  of  the  school 
nurse.  The  number  of  defects  reported  by  the  teachers  is 
much  greater,  but  teachers  cannot  be  expected  to  detect 
conditions  with  the  accuracy  of  a  trained  nurse.  That  the 
teachers  use  varying  standards  is  evident  from  the  uneven- 
ness  of  the  replies  on  certain  items.  At  the  Hawthorne 
School,  for  example,  only  one  of  112  pupils  was  reported  as 
having  faulty  posture,  while  at  the  Longfellow  School  more 
than  one  fourth  of  the  enrollment  were  so  reported.  There 
is  reason  to  believe,  however,  that  the  teachers  took  the  task 
seriously  and  their  observations  are  to  be  considered  highly 
significant.  The  teacher's  daily  contact  with  her  pupils 
gives  her  an  opportunity  for  observation  which  the  school 
nurse  cannot  have.  For  this  reason  the  nurse  must  con- 
tinually rely  upon  the  teacher's  help. 

Some  of  the  problems  of  health  which  are  important  to 
all  schools  will  be  briefly  reviewed  here,  with  special  refer- 
ence to  the  findings  among  the  school  children  of  Boise. 

POSTURE 

The  teachers  report  405  pupils  as  having  faulty  posture. 
Although  none  are  reported  by  the  school  nurse,  she  has 


The  Children's  Health 


171 


TABLE  37 

Summary  of  Data  Gathered  from  Questionnaire  on  Health  Con- 
ditions, Reported  on  by  Each  Teacher  in  the  Elementary 
Schools 

Part  I.    Answered  by  teachers 


No.  of  Pupils 


371 


259 


166 


427 


263 


438 


267 


175 


2456 


1.  Difl&culty  in  breathing  through 

nose 

2.  Nasal  discharge 

3.  Imperfect  hearing 

4.  Stutter  or  stammer 

5.  Have  eye  defects 

6.  Vision  tested  this  year  .... 

7.  Wear  glasses  regularly  .... 

8.  Nervousness,  etc 

9.  Moral  weakness 

10.  Lack  mental  alertness  .... 

11.  Unusual  alertness 

12.  Lack  play  ability    ...... 

13.  Delicate  or  ill 

14.  Have  faulty  posture 


61 

441 
21 
16 
44 
53 
24 

35 
25 
46 

32 
12 

39 
III 


54 
31 
17 
14 
54 
123 

14 
37 
26 

32 
22 
12 
40 
54 


31 
14 
13 

2>Z 

175 

II 

23 
12 

30 
16 
7 
23 
30 


20 
7 
7 
2 

31 

175 

9 

18 

7 
20 
21 

2 

25 
26 


272 
146 
107 

54 
249 
802 
108 
169 
123 

247 
205 
61 
230 
40s 


Part  2.    Answered  by  pupils 


1.  Headaches  of  ten 

2.  Earaches  often    . 

3.  Sore  throats,  colds  often  .    .    .    . 

4.  Tonsils,  adenoids  out 

5.  Tonsils  or  adenoids  out  this  year 

6.  Difficulty  reading  blackboard  .    . 

7.  Print  blurs,  etc 

8.  Ever  gone  to  dentist 

9.  To  dentist  this  year 

10.  Have  toothbrush 

11.  Have  toothache  often 

12.  Have  no  breakfast 

13.  Have  no  lunch 


65 
34 
58 
87 
27 
12 

51 

267 

132 

321 

49 

17 

2 


71 
II 

67 

38 

9 

22 

58 

152 

53 

138 

42 

6 

3 


17 
21 
32 
35 
14 
II 

29 

69 

37 

105 

26 

2 

5 


41 
18 
40 
44 
14 
14 
28 

114 
68 

166 

19 

4 

I 


114 

36 

96 

97 

27 

39 

97 

229 

181 

381 

89 

39 

7 


70 
18 
52 
95 
22 
20 
52 

187 
97 

252 

47 
15 
12 


107 

39 

106 

82 

15 

39 

91 

290 

170 

380 

^2> 

25 

5 


55 
22 

78 
60 

14 

28 

50 

155 

116 

267 

47 

9 


72 
25 
54 
65 
II 
81 
79 
134 

lOI 

166 

48 

8 

3 


612 
224 

583 
603 

153 
266 

535 
1598 

955 
2176 

450 

125 

38 


172  The  Boise  Survey 

doubtless  observed  many  cases.  It  is  not  unreasonable  to 
suppose  that  disorders  of  growth,  with  their  evil  effects  on 
school  life,  are  as  common  in  Boise  as  in  most  other  Ameri- 
can cities.  Terman  and  Hoag  estimate  that  from  20  to  30 
per  cent  of  the  school  children  in  the  United  States  are 
affected  by  spinal  curvature,  which  is  the  common  patho- 
logical cause  for  incorrect  sitting  and  standing. 

Spinal  curvature  is  a  functional  disorder,  and  does  not 
have  its  origin  in  the  school.  The  school  should  be  held 
responsible,  however,  for  providing  desks  and  seats  which 
are  adjusted  to  the  physical  requirements  of  children  thus 
affected.  There  are  probably  not  enough  adjustable  desks 
in  Boise  schools  to  supply  the  deformed  pupils,  if  their  use 
were  to  be  so  limited. 

The  school  also  may  be  held  responsible  for  the  posture 
of  children  whose  spines  are  not  curved,  but  who  have 
formed  incorrect  habits  of  sitting,  standing,  and  walking. 
Often  these  habits  result  from  desks  which  are  not  properly 
set,  or  which  are  not  fitted  to  the  pupils  using  them.  Even 
a  stationary  desk  can  be  set  the  "minus"  distance,  and  with 
desks  of  different  sizes  each  pupil  may  be  reasonably  fitted. 
Instruction  in  the  proper  carrying  of  books  and  in  correct 
standing,  sitting,  and  walking  will  go  far  toward  improving 
posture  in  the  school.  Exercises  may  be  given  which  will 
not  only  benefit  all  the  pupils,  but  will  also  improve  those 
afflicted  with  functional  curvature. 

NUTRITION 

Nearly  10  per  cent  of  the  pupils  are  reported  delicate  or 
frequently  ill.  The  teachers*  observations  in  this  respect 
cannot  be  often  mistaken.  While  there  are  numerous  causes 
for  this  condition,  it  may  easily  result  from  insufficient  or 
improper  feeding  among  children  whose  physical  condition 
is  otherwise  normal.  The  seriousness  of  ^e  situation  in 
Boise  is  made  more  apparent  by  the  testimony  of  125  chil- 
dren who  regularly  come  to  school  without  breakfast,  and 


The  Children's  Health  1 73 

38  who  regiilarly  eat  no  lunch.  The  proportion  of  these 
cases  is  greatest  at  the  Longfellow,  Lowell,  and  Park  schools. 
It  does  not  follow  that  all  the  children  who  do  have  break- 
fast and  lunch  are  properly  fed.  Some  of  the  lunches 
brought  to  school  would  be  better  not  eaten.  Close  super- 
vision over  such  matters,  with  home  visiting  and  advice  by 
the  school  nurse,  will  help  bring  about  better  feeding.  The 
cooking  classes  can  be  utilized  to  good  advantage  in  the 
dissemination  of  food  knowledge. 


TUBERCULOSIS 

This  disease  is  so  common  among  school  children  that  a 
knowledge  of  its  causes  and  effects  should  be  made  a  part 
of  the  professional  equipment  of  every  teacher.  So  common 
is  this  plague,  that  if  the  total  number  of  cases  in  the  United 
States  were  to  be  spread  evenly  according  to  the  population, 
Boise's  share  would  be  nearly  500.  About  100  of  these 
would  be  school  children.  It  is  probable  that  Boise  does  not 
have  her  full  share,  thanks  to  her  location  and  climate.  On 
the  other  hand,  many  tuberculous  persons  seek  such 
climates  for  their  recovery.  It  is  conceivable  that  there  are 
dozens  of  cases  in  this  city,  and  that  many  children  are  in 
daily  contact  with  the  disease.  Thorough  inspection,  medi- 
cal supervision,  clean  buildings,  and  fresh  air  are  among  the 
contributions  the  school  can  make.  Prevention  should  be 
made  the  key  word  of  all  health  work. 

CONTAGION  IN   THE   SCHOOLS 

^  The  influenza  epidemic  illustrated  in  Boise,  as  in  other 
cities,  how  rapidly  disease  can  spread,  even  when  drastic 
preventive  measures  are  taken.  The  mingling  of  hundreds 
of  children  from  hundreds  of  homes  gives  the  schools  an 
opportunity  to  become  either  the  city's  greatest  source  of 
illness  or  its  greatest  source  of  health  conservation.  Particu- 
larly in  the  matter  of  contagious  diseases,  the  schools  are 


174 


The  Boise  Survey 


The  Children's  Health  175 

closely  related  to  the  social  and  economic  welfare  of  the 
community. 

Rigid  care,  supported  by  legal  requirements,  has  been 
exercised  in  the  Boise  schools  relative  to  contagion.  Forms 
F  and  G  indicate  the  cooperation  of  the  school,  the  home, 
and  the  state  in  the  prevention  of  spreading  diseases. 

VENTILATION  AND   HEALTH 

Suggestions  for  the  improvement  of  the  ventilation  sys- 
tems in  the  schools  are  made  in  the  chapter  on  buildings  and 
grounds.  The  effects  of  bad  ventilation  should  logically 
come  to  the  attention  of  the  school  nurse.  Her  evidence 
will  support  the  recommendation  that  an  abundant  and  con- 
stant supply  of  clean,  fresh  air  be  circulated  through  each 
schoolroom. 

TEETH 

About  15  per  cent  of  the  pupils  examined  by  the  school 
nurse  were  recommended  for  dental  treatment.  This  in- 
cludes, of  course,  only  children  whose  parents  had  not  previ- 
ously provided  adequate  treatment.  That  there  are  many 
parents  in  Boise  who  do  not  attend  to  their  children's  teeth 
is  indicated  by  the  statements  of  858  children  that  they 
have  never  been  to  a  dentist.  This  represents  more  than  30 
per  cent  of  the  elementary  school  enrollment.  The  number 
who  say  they  have  no  toothbrush  is  280,  or  about  10  per 
cent  of  the  enrollment.  Even  if  one  half  of  these  children 
are  mistaken,  the  numbers  represent  significant  proportions. 
In  the  light  of  other  facts  it  seems  probable  that  consider- 
ably more  than  one  half  of  them  have  told  the  truth.  One 
wonders  how  many  of  the  450  who  report  frequent  tooth- 
aches are  among  those  without  toothbrushes  and  who  have 
never  had  a  mouth  inspection.  We  are  also  compelled  to 
wonder  how  the  toothbrush  drill  must  seem  to  the  280  who 
have  nothing  with  which  to  practice  at  home. 

Regular  instruction  by  the  school  nurse  in  the  use  and 
importance  of  the  toothbrush  has  brought  effective  results 


176 


The  Boise  Survey 


The  Children's  Health  177 

during  the  past  year.  The  use  of  Form  H,  for  instructing 
parents,  is  commendable.  A  school  whose  pupils  clean  their 
teeth  each  morning  has  made  a  worthy  accomplishment. 


NOSE   AND   THROAT 

More  than  11  per  cent  of  the  pupils,  or  more  than  the 
total  enrollment  of  the  Washington  School,  are  reported  by 
their  teachers  as  having  difficulty  in  breathing  through  the 
nose.  More  than  one  half  of  this  number  have  nasal  dis- 
charge. Sore  throats  and  colds  are  common,  according  to 
the  testimony  of  the  children.  These  facts  are  not  surprising 
in  the  climate  of  Boise.  The  air  is  dry  and  necessarily  con- 
tains particles  of  dust.  Unless  this  air  is  mixed  with  mois- 
ture before  being  breathed,  the  sharp  dust  particles  irritate 
the  delicate  membranes  of  the  nose  and  throat,  which,  when 
allowed  to  become  dry,  are  powerless  to  resist.  The  broken 
and  roughened  membranes  become  easily  infected,  and 
serious  ailments  often  result.  Many  of  these  cases  must 
escape  the  attention  of  the  school  nurse,  owing  to  the  ne- 
cessity for  hasty  inspection.  Nasal  discharge  and  impaired 
breathing  are  easily  noticed  by  the  teachers,  owing  to  their 
effect  upon  the  recitation  and  study  periods.  Such  cases 
should  always  be  reported  to  the  school  nurse.  We  cannot 
afford  to  pass  over  them  lightly. 

Still  more  serious  are  the  indications  of  adenoids  and 
diseased  tonsils.  The  school  nurse  reported  249  cases  of 
hypertrophied  tonsils  and  45  cases  of  adenoids,  out  of  2439 
examinations  during  the  past  year.  The  children  reported 
153  operations,  most  of  which  were  probably  made  on  the 
recommendation  of  the  school  nurse.  It  is  to  the  credit  of 
the  school  health  department  that  these  suggestions  were 
carried  out.  Assuming  that  the  operations  represent  the 
most  serious  cases,  the  remaining  250  must  include  many 
cases  needing  immediate  attention.  No  doubt  some  of  these 
were  taken  care  of  during  the  summer  vacation.  It  is  not 
unlikely,  however,  that  children  were  returned  to  the  school 


178  The  Boise  Survey 


The  Children's  Health  1 79 

in  September  whose  health  was  greatly  impaired  through 
neglect  of  these  reported  conditions.  Diseased  tonsils  are 
now  known  to  be  the  source  of  much  disability  and  mor- 
tality formerly  attributed  to  other  causes.  Teachers  and 
principals  should  cooperate  with  the  health  authorities  to 
stamp  out  nose  and  throat  diseases  in  the  schools. 

HEARING 

In  the  case  of  ear  defects  there  is  a  wide  discrepancy  be- 
tween the  teachers'  observations  and  those  of  the  school 
nurse.  The  teachers  report  107  cases  of  imperfect  hearing, 
while  during  the  past  year  but  2  7  cases  came  to  the  attention 
of  the  nurse.  Here  again  it  is  probable  that  only  the  more 
marked  cases  were  reported  at  the  classroom  examination. 
It  is  probable  that  the  teachers'  estimates  are  nearer  the 
truth.  Hearing  is  an  essential  factor  in  instruction. 
Teachers  are  in  an  excellent  position  to  detect  temporary  or 
permanent  auditory  defects.  All  teachers  know  how  the 
weakness  of  this  important  sense  may  produce  school  re- 
tardation. It  has  been  found  that  some  children  are  need- 
lessly repeating  their  school  work  by  reason  of  ear  defects 
that  could  easily  be  remedied.  The  statements  of  224  Boise 
children  to  the  effect  that  earaches  are  common  with  them 
should  be  a  matter  of  grave  concern  to  the  schools.  Hearing 
tests  in  which  the  teachers  can  cooperate  with  the  school 
nurse  are  now  available  and  should  be  used  at  least  once  a 
month  in  each  schoolroom.  More  attention  should  be  given 
to  the  seating  of  the  children  who  do  not  hear  well. 

EYE  TROUBLES 

Tests  of  vision  have  been  made  through  the  schools,  but 
as  in  the  case  of  other  health  observations,  they  have  been 
limited  chiefly  to  the  pupils  whose  defects  were  marked, 
or  who,  for  some  reason,  were  especially  called  to  the  atten- 
tion of  the  school  nurse.  The  number  of  defects  reported 
is  relatively  small,  and  is  probably  a  conservative  estimate. 


i8o  The  Boise  Survey 

The  nurse  reports  1 50  cases  out  of  last  yearns  examinations, 
75  of  which  were  cases  of  defective  vision.  The  teachers 
report  249  cases,  which  indicates  that  about  10  per  cent  of 
the  pupils  enrolled  have  vision  so  poor  that  it  has  come  to 
the  attention  of  the  teacher.  From  the  children  themselves 
come  the  reports  that  535  find  that  the  print  in  the  textbook 
blurs,  266  cannot  clearly  read  ordinary  writing  on  the  black- 
board, and  612  have  frequent  headaches.  While  all  of  these 
probably  cannot  be  due  entirely  to  eye  defects,  most  of 
them  can  be  traced  to  that  source.  These  facts  are  shown 
graphically  in  Figure  28.  Probably  the  proportion  of  pupils 
needing  the  attention  of  an  oculist  is  far  greater  than  has 
been  suspected.  It  is  not  unlikely  that  some  of  the  diffi- 
culty can  be  traced  to  the  improper  lighting  of  schoolrooms, 
to  which  reference  has  been  made  in  another  chapter. 

The  testing  of  vision  is  such  a  simple  matter  that  it  should 
be  more  widely  carried  on  in  the  schools.  The  McCallie 
Vision  Cards,  which  have  been  successfully  used  in  many 
cities,  constitute  a  convenient  and  reliable  means  of  meas- 
uring relative  visual  capacity.  These  tests  can  be  given 
by  any  teacher  to  all  the  pupils  in  her  room  in  less  than 
fifteen  minutes.^  Five  dollars  would  buy  enough  tests  to 
supply  all  the  schools  for  many  years.  Such  work  done  at 
regular  intervals  would  be  of  great  help  to  the  teachers  and 
would  furnish  invaluable  cooperation  with  the  school  nurse. 
Children's  eyes  are  one  of  the  most  precious  assets  in  the 
acquirement  of  an  education.  The  efficiency  of  the  schools 
demands  a  careful  attention  to  matters  of  visual  hygiene. 


NERVOUS   CONDITIONS 

All  of  the  167  pupils  reported  as  being  nervous  require 
further  observation.  Many  of  these  are  of  a  high-strung, 
excitable  temperament,  which  may  interfere  with  school 
work  and  health,  if  not  guarded.    Children  who  are  naturally 

1  A  demonstration  of  these  tests  was  given  at  the  Hawthorne  School 
during  the  survey. 


The  Children's  Health  i8i 


2456 PUPfLS  REPORTED  UPON- 


02H/^EH/JD  EYES  TESTEDTHf3  YEfIR 


6/2  H/^VE  HE/QD/1CHE3  OFTEN 


53S  FIND  THAJT  THE  PRINT  BL  UR3 


H/WED/FF/CUlTYREmW  BMCKBO/^RD 


249  REPORTED  BY  TE4CHER3  FOR  EYE  DEFECTS 


REPORTEDBY  SCHOOL  NURSE  FOR  EYE  DEFECTS 


NOW  WEARING  Gli^SSES 


/J  %  PR06/7BLV  Hl^VE  DEFECTIVE  V/S/ON 


Fig.  28.    Data  Relating  TO  Vision  IN  THE  Schools  OF  Boise 

weak  in  the  control  of  their  nervous  mechanisms  are  subject 
to  many  undesirable  conditions.  The  neglect  of  such  cases 
is  turning  to  the  juvenile  courts  hundreds  of  children  whose 
delinquency  might  have  been  prevented  through  their  proper 
care  during  the  early  years  of  school  life.  A  special  study 
of  all  nervous  children  would  be  an  undertaking  which  the 
principals  and  teachers  could  well  afford  to  make. 

SPEECH  PROBLEMS 

The  number  of  pupils  reported  as  being  subject  to  stut- 
tering or  stammering  is  relatively  small  in  proportion  to  some 
of  the  other  defects,  but  there  are  enough  cases  to  justify 
the  establishment  of  at  least  two  or  three  special  classrooms 
for  speech  development,  which  is  the  practice  in  some  cities. 
The  fact  that  nine  out  of  every  ten  cases  of  stammering  can 
be  cured  by  relatively  simple  treatment  argues  strongly  for 
this  work  to  become  a  part  of  the  educational  program.    The 


1 82  The  Boise  Survey 

employment  of  a  single  special  teacher  in  Boise  for  this 
purpose  would  probably  cost  less  than  the  extra  cost  of  the 
retardation  of  these  pupils.  With  a  little  instruction  some 
of  the  regular  teachers  could  assist  in  bringing  about  normal 
speech  habits  in  stammering  children.  Dr.  Lewis  M.  Ter- 
man  in  his  Hygiene  of  the  School  Child  suggests  the  follow- 
ing of  these  simple  directions: 

Arrange  with  the  child  to  remain  a  half-hour  after  school  three 
or  four  times  a  week  for  a  speech  lesson.  Let  this  consist  largely  of 
conversation  in  a  low,  ordinary  tone  of  voice.  Convince  the  child 
that  he  will  be  able  to  overcome  the  defect.  Repeat  this  assurance 
until  it  becomes  an  absolute  conviction.  Stuttering  will  ordinarily 
not  cease  as  long  as  the  fear  of  it  remains.  ...  He  must  be  taught 
to  take  a  reasonable  attitude  toward  his  defect  and  toward  people. 

MENTAL   CONDITIONS  AND  HEALTH 

About  10  per  cent  of  the  children  are  noticeably  lacking  in 
mental  alertness,  according  to  the  observations  of  their 
teachers.  Sluggishness  of  mental  operation  is  not  infre- 
quently a  definite  symptom  of  physical  defect.  General 
physical  weakness,  malnutrition,  adenoids,  tonsils,  impaired 
hearing,  speech  impediments,  and  other  defects  referred  to 
often  prevent  the  proper  exercise  of  the  mind.  Indeed,  so 
close  is  the  relation  existing  between  school  success  and 
health  that  the  belief  has  sometimes  been  expressed  that 
the  development  of  intelligence  is  retarded  by  physical  de- 
fects. Intelligence  tests  have  shown  that  this  is  not  true 
to  the  extent  supposed,  but  many  physically  defective  chil- 
dren have  been  found  to  be  incapable  of  doing  the  work 
which  could  normally  be  expected  from  their  mental  ages. 
School  efficiency  requires  sound  minds  in  sound  bodies.  It 
should  be  the  business  of  the  school  to  see  that  both  of  these 
important  elements  are  given  their  full  measure  of  attention. 

PLAY  AND  HEALTH 

Judging  from  the  teachers'  observations,  the  ability  to 
play  normally  is  common  to  nearly  all  the  children  in  the 


The  Children's  Health  183 

Boise  schools.  The  ability  to  play  is  a  natural  gift,  and 
fortunately  does  not  depend  entirely  upon  the  amount  and 
kind  of  equipment  provided.  There  is  no  foimdation,  how- 
ever, either  in  theory  or  practice,  for  the  notion  that  play- 
ground apparatus  is  unnecessary  to  the  best  use  of  the 
play  instinct.  It  might  be  said  truthfully  that  children  can 
learn  to  read  without  textbooks  and  that  they  could  learn 
to  write  by  marking  on  the  ground  with  sticks.  At  the  same 
time  we  encourage  the  use  of  good  books  and  writing  ma- 
terials because  we  know  that  more  efficient  results  can  be 
obtained  from  their  use.  The  fact  that  the  teachers  report 
61  pupils  to  be  lacking  in  play  ability  may  not  be  due 
altogether  to  the  lack  of  apparatus,  but  it  is  reasonable  to 
suppose  that  many  of  them  can  be  developed  by  putting 
playground  work  on  the  same  basis  as  classroom  instruction. 

SOURCES  OF  INFECTION 

Numerous  references  are  made  in  the  chapter  on  buildings 
and  grounds  to  points  in  building  construction  and  sanita- 
tion which  are  directly  related  to  the  health  of  the  children. 
In  fact,  there  is  hardly  a  part  of  the  school  plant  which  is 
not  so  related.  Some  parts  are  especially  liable  to  affect 
the  physical  condition  of  the  pupils  through  infection  or 
contamination.  Among  these,  perhaps,  the  toilets  are  of 
greatest  importance.  These  rooms  should  be  kept  clean, 
dry,  and  well  lighted  at  all  times.  Ample  washing  facilities, 
including  clean  basins,  warm  water,  liquid  soap,  and  paper 
towels  should  constitute  the  standard  equipment.  Habits 
of  cleanliness  and  sanitation  can  be  best  learned  in  the 
presence  of  wholesome  surroundings  and  equipment  which 
invite  its  regular  use. 

Banisters  and  other  parts  of  the  buildings  which  the  chil- 
dren touch  with  their  hands  should  be  kept  clean  with  a 
disinfectant.  All  forms  of  equipment  intended  for  general 
use  should  be  systematically  and  frequently  cleaned.  In 
some  of  the  dark  but  regularly  used  parts  of  the  Boise  school 


1 84  The  Boise  Survey 

buildings  it  is  an  easy  matter  for  janitors  to  neglect  these 
details.  Among  the  89  exclusions  from  school  during  the 
past  year  on  the  recommendation  of  the  school  nurse  may 
be  found  cases  which  show  the  necessity  for  taking  advan- 
tage of  every  possible  means  of  preventing  the  spread  of 
infection. 

HYGIENE   TEACHING 

The  course  of  study  provides  for  instruction  in  hygiene  in 
the  first  six  grades  of  the  elementary  schools.  The  outline 
for  the  current  year  is  as  follows: 

HYGIENE 
Grades  1,  2,  3,  4 

I.  Form  habits  of  personal  cleanliness: 

1.  Bathe  frequently. 

2.  Brush  teeth  (up  and  down  as  well  as  across)  after  each  meal. 

3.  Keep  clean  face,  neck,  ears,  hands,  and  finger  nails. 

4.  Wash  scalp  and  hair  at  least  once  each  month.  Keep  hair  neatly  combed . 

5.  Brush  clothes  and  shoes. 
n.  Form  habits  of  regular  living. 

1.  Go  to  bed  early.    Keep  windows  wide  open  in  sleeping  rooms  so  that 

the  air  may  pass  through  freely. 

2.  Eat  at  regular  hours. 

3.  Play  in  the  open  air. 

Fifth  Grade 
Care  of  the  body  and  its  organs: 

1.  The  necessity  for  pure  air  and  how  to  secure  it;  adequate  ventilation. 

2.  Microbes  and  cleanliness. 

3.  Value  of  sleep  and  the  amount  necessary. 

4.  Care  of  the  eyes,  ears,  teeth,  nails,  hair,  skin  and  clothing. 

5.  Work  of  the  nose  and  lungs. 

6.  Appropriate  physical  exercises;  play  in  the  open  air. 

Sixth  Grade 
Municipal  health: 

1.  Clean  streets  and  children's  part  in  this. 

2.  Proper  disposal  of  garbage,  ashes,  and  rubbish. 

3.  Need  of  playgrounds. 

4.  Prevention  of  fires. 

5.  Importance  of  good  water  supply  and  food  inspection. 


The  Children's  Health  185 

6.  Epidemics  and  safeguards  against  them. 

7.  Effects  of  alcohol  on  vigor. 

8.  Cost  of  liquor  to  the  mvuiicipality. 

Health  Habits  —  O'Shea  and  Kellogg. 
Aim:  To  fix  right  habits  of  living. 

6B.    Pages  1-105.  ^A.    Pages  106-206. 

This  outline,  although  too  brief  to  serve  as  a  manual  of 
directions,  suggests  to  the  teacher  the  essential  feature  of 
hygiene  teaching  during  the  first  years  of  school  life;  namely, 
that  it  should  be  informal,  with  a  view  toward  inculcating 
correct  habits  of  living,  rather  than  filling  the  children's 
minds  with  the  technicalities  of  physiology  and  disease.  If 
the  lessons  in  this  outline  are  learned  and  followed  regularly 
by  the  school  children  of  Boise,  there  will  be  health  and 
vigor  in  the  growing  generation.  Especially  commendable 
is  the  encouragement  of  frequent  bathing,  fresh  air,  habits 
of  regular  living,  exercise,  and  general  preventive  work.  An 
excellent  opportunity  is  offered  here  for  follow-up  work  on 
the  part  of  the  teachers  and  the  school  nurse.  Regular 
surveys  could  be  made,  by  classrooms,  to  see  how  many 
pupils  were  profiting  from  the  instruction.  Hoag  and  Terman 
in  Health  Work  in  the  Schools  show  how  health  surveys  can 
be  conducted  quickly  and  easily  by  any  teacher.  Children 
find  pleasure  in  undertaking  such  surveys.  Their  regular 
use  may  be  made  a  valuable  source  of  unconscious  self- 
instruction. 

It  is  unfortunate  that  the  hygiene  course  is  limited  to  the 
first  six  grades.  Commendable  as  this  informal  work  is,  its 
effectiveness  would  be  multiplied  many  fold  by  following  it 
with  more  definite  instruction  in  the  seventh  and  eighth 
grades.  Here  the  practical  aspects  of  bacteriology,  home 
hygiene,  municipal  and  industrial  hygiene,  etc.,  could  be 
emphasized  by  concrete  observations  and  illustrative  ma- 
terial. Good  teachers  can  make  hygiene  a  popular  and 
highly  profitable  course  in  the  upper  grades.    The  emphasis 


1 86  The  Boise  Survey 

throughout  the  schools  should  be  on  prevention  and  whole- 
some living,  with  as  little  as  possible  of  the  morbid  aspects 
of  the  problem. 

THE  TEACHER^S   HEALTH 

It  is  generally  recognized  that  healthful  schools  require 
healthy  teachers.  The  importance  of  this  may  be  expressed 
before  long  in  the  requirement  that  all  candidates  for  teach- 
ing positions  pass  a  physical  examination  as  a  prerequisite 
to  their  employment.  The  army  enlistment  standards  of 
health  could  as  logically  be  adopted  for  those  who  enlist  in 
the  teaching  ranks  of  the  public  schools.  The  board  of 
education,  as  well  as  any  business  concern,  is  justified  in 
demanding  that  its  employees  be  in  sound  physical  and 
mental  health  at  the  beginning  and  throughout  the  period 
of  employment.  Efficiency  in  teaching  is  no  less  dependent 
upon  health  than  success  in  the  industrial  or  commercial 
world.  The  teacher's  health  is  more  important  than  that 
of  a  factory  hand,  for  not  only  is  her  personal  welfare  at 
stake,  but  die  welfare  and  even  the  lives  of  her  pupils  may 
depend  upon  her  strength,  vigor,  and  habits  of  living.  The 
community  should  cooperate  in  this  health  program  by  pro- 
viding teachers  and  pupils  with  clean,  wholesome  surround- 
ings. 

THE   JANITOR  AND   HEALTH 

School  janitors  in  Boise,  as  in  many  other  cities,  are  em- 
ployed without  much  regard  to  either  health  or  training. 
Yet  the  responsibilities  vested  in  him  make  him,  next  to  the 
principal,  the  most  important  official  in  the  school.  We  may 
confidently  expect  that  within  a  few  years  janitors  in  all 
of  the  more  progressive  school  systems  will  be  selected  with 
as  great  care  as  is  now  exercised  in  the  selection  of  teachers. 
The  janitor  will  be  required  to  know,  in  addition  to  the 
necessary  mechanical  knowledge,  the  fundamental  principles 
of  school  hygiene.    It  will  be  necessary  for  him  to  know 


The  Children's  Health  187 

how  to  produce  correct  heating,  lighting,  and  ventilation; 
how  to  adjust  seats  and  desks  scientifically;  how  properly 
to  disinfect  rooms;  how  to  prevent  the  accumulation  and 
spread  of  dust;  what  diseases  are  transmissible,  and  how 
they  can  be  prevented;  in  short,  how  to  keep  the  school  as 
hygienic  as  a  hospital  or  a  kitchen.  Moreover,  he  should 
know  of  such  matters  in  their  relation  to  the  health  and 
development  of  the  children,  for  in  his  hands  rests  the  secret 
of  the  physical  success  of  the  school.  This  will  require  a 
scientific  and  educational  training  which,  needless  to  say, 
few  school  janitors  ever  receive.  Obviously  it  will  not  be 
possible  to  provide  the  schools  at  once  with  trained  janitors. 
There  is  little  inducement  at  present  for  capable  men  to 
choose  this  vocation  early  enough  in  life  to  become  trained. 
There  are  few  places,  in  fact,  where  such  training  is  offered. 
The  most  practicable  step  for  the  schools  to  take  lies  in  the 
direction  of  insisting  on  high  standards  of  intelligence  and 
education,  and  pay  enough  to  secure  men  who  meet  these 
standards.  Such  men  will  usually  be  found  willing  to  devote 
a  portion  of  their  time  to  study,  and  every  hour  so  spent 
will  yield  valuable  returns  to  the  schools.  The  Board  of 
Education  could  well  afford  to  furnish  each  janitor  with  a 
good  book  on  school  hygiene  and  with  magazines  devoted 
to  the  problems  with  which  he  has  to  deal.  Dr.  Fletcher  B. 
Dresslar  in  his  School  Hygiene  gives  a  list  of  twenty  rules 
for  janitors,  which,  if  learned  and  applied,  in  themselves 
furnish  a  valuable  elementary  textbook. 

OPEN-AIR   SCHOOLS 

All  the  classes  in  the  Boise  schools  are  conducted  within 
closed  walls.  Inasmuch  as  most  of  these  rooms  are  incor- 
rectly ventilated,  there  is  nothing  in  the  city  which 
approaches  the  open-air  class.  Yet  there  are  enough  tu- 
berculous and  pre-tuberculous  children  alone  to  fill  at  least 
one  such  class.  Probably  three  or  four  classes  would  be 
none  too  many  to  handle  properly  all  the  children  who  could 


1 88  The  Boise  Survey 

profit  greatly  from  them.  To  give  these  children  a  chance 
at  recovery  is  the  least  that  should  be  done  for  them.  Many 
cities  in  the  United  States  during  the  past  ten  years  have 
adopted  the  plan  of  having  open-air  classes,  and  in  every 
instance  the  benefits  derived  were  sufficiently  evidenced  to 
warrant  their  continuance.  In  some  instances  the  improve- 
ment in  the  children  is  almost  incredible,  but  actual  meas- 
urements and  tests  have  substantiated  the  claims  made.  No 
city  which  has  established  open-air  schools  has  abandoned 
them.  It  would  be  well  for  Boise  to  follow  their  example, 
and  at  least  test  the  method. 

Open-air  schools  are  not  expensive.  In  fact,  they  can 
often  be  very  cheaply  constructed,  or  made  out  of  buildings 
which  no  longer  serve  the  needs  of  regular  schools.  It  has 
been  suggested  that  the  Hawthorne  School  be  converted  to 
such  use.  It  is  recommended  that  consideration  be  given 
to  this  suggestion  before  the  school  is  abandoned.  Some 
cities  have  adopted  a  policy  of  providing  at  least  one  open- 
air  classroom  in  each  new  building.  In  California  it  is  not 
uncommon  to  construct  schools  so  that  all  rooms  may  be 
converted  into  open-air  rooms  in  a  few  minutes.  A  study 
of  the  buildings  in  Boise,  especially  in  connection  with  sug- 
gested improvements  in  lighting,  will  doubtless  reveal  plenty 
of  opportunities  for  making  open-air  classrooms  with  very 
little  expenditure. 

SUMMARY  AND   RECOMMENDATIONS 

1.  Medical  supervision  in  Boise  is  carried  on  by  one 
school  nurse,  employed  for  full  time.  The  work  accom- 
plished thus  far  is  commendable,  but  should  be  extended 
and  supplemented.  It  is  recommended  that  at  least  one 
additional  school  nurse  and  clerical  assistance  be  provided. 

2.  A  survey  of  certain  health  conditions  revealed  health 
facts  of  far-reaching  significance.  Many  children  have  de- 
fects which  could  easily  be  remedied  by  extended  health 
supervision.    The  extra  cost  to  the  schools  of  the  retarda- 


The  Children's  Health  189 

tion  of  these  children  is  probably  much  greater  than  would 
be  the  cost  of  the  attention  they  need. 

3.  The  large  number  of  cases  of  faulty  posture  may  be 
closely  related  to  the  fact  that  most  of  the  seats  and  desks 
are  non-adjustable.  It  is  recommended  that  at  least  one 
fourth  and  eventually  all  of  the  pupils  be  provided  with 
adjustable  desks  and  seats. 

4.  Too  many  pupils  come  to  school  without  having  been 
sufficiently  fed.  It  is  recommended  that  all  these  cases  be 
immediately  followed  up,  to  the  end  that  better  conditions 
of  nutrition  be  secured. 

5.  Tuberculosis,  which  is  found  in  more  than  10  per  cent 
of  public  school  children,  is  probably  as  common  in  Boise 
as  in  other  cities.  It  is  recommended  that  teachers  be 
better  informed  as  to  the  symptoms,  causes,  consequences, 
prevention,  and  treatment  of  this  disease. 

6.  Commendable  care  has  been  exercised  by  the  school 
nurse  in  preventing  the  spread  of  contagious  diseases.  With 
a  larger  working  staff  this  work  can  be  carried  on  still  more 
efficiently,  to  the  direct  profit  of  the  community. 

7.  The  improper  ventilation  of  many  of  the  schoolrooms 
calls  for  special  attention,  with  emphasis  on  the  relation  of 
pure,  fresh,  moist  air  to  the  health  of  the  children.  Recom- 
mendations on  this  point  are  made  in  the  chapter  on  build- 
ings and  grounds. 

8.  Conditions  regarding  the  proper  care  of  teeth  are  de- 
plorable, notwithstanding  the  regular  toothbrush  drills  and 
supplementary  instruction  given  by  the  school  nurse.  Edu- 
cation on  this  point  should  extend  to  parents  as  well  as 
pupils.    A  good  beginning  in  this  has  already  been  made. 

9.  Nose  and  throat  affections  are  especially  common  in 
the  Boise  schools,  due  perhaps  in  large  measure  to  the  dry 
air  and  dust  of  the  schoolrooms. 

10.  Imperfect  hearing  and  discharging  ears  are  fre- 
quent. With  extended  supervision  many  of  these  conditions 
can  be  overcome,  or  early  treatment  provided.  It  is  recom- 
mended that  hearing  tests  be  made  regularly  in  the  schools. 


190  The  Boise  Survey 

11.  Defective  vision,  with  its  attendant  complications,  is 
more  common  than  has  been  supposed.  More  than  800 
children  have  been  given  vision  tests  during  the  year.  This 
work  is  excellent,  but  should  be  extended  to  include  all  the 
pupils.  Satisfactory  tests  of  vision  can  be  made  by  the 
teachers.  It  is  recommended  that  such  tests  be  given  at 
least  twice  a  year,  and  that  adjustments  be  made  according 
to  the  findings. 

12.  More  attention  should  be  given  to  the  problem  of 
nervousness  among  the  school  children.  Juvenile  delin- 
quency often  follows  the  neglect  of  this  matter.  There  are 
167  pupils  in  the  Boise  schools  who  are  reported  as  nervous. 

13.  It  is  recommended  that  special  instruction  be  given 
to  children  who  stutter  or  stammer,  by  the  establishment  of 
speech  classes. 

14.  It  is  recommended  that  further  attention  be  given  to 
the  development  of  play  activities,  with  the  equipment  of 
the  playgrounds.  There  should  be  at  least  one  playground 
supervisor  for  the  schools. 

15.  Some  conditions  in  the  Boise  schools  are  sources  of  in- 
fection because  of  inadequate  sanitation.  Regular  use  of 
disinfectants  is  urged. 

16.  A  good  beginning  has  been  made  in  the  teaching  of 
hygiene  in  the  first  six  grades.  It  is  recommended  that  this 
be  followed  by  courses  in  the  seventh  and  eighth  grades. 

17.  It  is  recommended  that  higher  standards  of  health  be 
held  regarding  the  employment  of  teachers,  and  that  the 
schools  cooperate  in  the  maintaining  of  a  physically  and 
mentally  sound  staff  by  making  the  school  conducive  to  the 
health  and  comfort  of  the  teachers. 

18.  It  is  recommended  that  higher  standards  be  main- 
tained in  the  selection  of  janitors;  that  higher  salaries  be 
offered  in  the  securing  of  competent  men;  and  that 
professional  advancement  be  promoted  by  providing  the 
janitors  with  books  and  magazines  relating  to  school  house- 
keeping. 

19.  There  are  enough  children  in  need  of  fresh-air  treat- 


The  Children's  Health  191 

ment  to  justify  the  establishment  of  several  open-air  classes 
or  one  open-air  school.  It  is  suggested  that  the  Hawthorne 
School  be  converted  to  this  use.  It  is  recommended  that 
future  buildings  be  provided  with  at  least  one  open-air  room 
in  each. 


CHAPTER   DC 

BUILDINGS   AND    GROUNDS 

(Williams) 

THE  BUILDING  SITUATION   IN  BOISE 

NO  one  would  expect  to  judge  the  efficiency  of  a  school 
system  entirely  by  its  buildings  and  grounds,  but  these 
factors  are  of  such  importance  that  they  may  often  serve 
as  an  index  of  the  educational  progress  of  a  city.  As  a  rule, 
good  school  systems  are  equipped  with  good  buildings,  and 
cities  which  are  negligent  with  reference  to  their  school 
plant  also  neglect  other  things  which  relate  to  the  education 
and  welfare  of  their  children. 

In  Boise  the  school  plant  is  perhaps  the  greatest  outstand- 
ing weakness  of  the  school  system.  Not  only  do  many  of 
the  buildings  grade  far  below  the  standard,  but  in  some 
respects  they  are  so  inferior  as  to  raise  serious  doubts  as  to 
their  present  suitability  for  school  purposes.  There  is  not 
a  single  "standard"  building  in  Boise;  there  are  at  least 
five  buildings  which  require  immediate  improvement. 

It  is  not  difficult  to  understand  why  these  conditions  exist. 
Standards  for  school-building  construction  are  of  relatively 
recent  origin.  Of  the  ten  schools  in  Boise,  only  two  have 
been  built  during  the  past  fifteen  years  (Figure  29).  Since 
that  time  enormous  strides  have  been  taken  in  school  plan- 
ning. The  modern  building  is  erected  according  to  the  dic- 
tates of  science,  following  the  fundamental  principles  of 
educational  hygiene  and  school  efficiency.  That  these  prin- 
ciples did  not  direct  the  construction  of  the  Whittier,  Lin- 
coln, Garfield,  and  Hawthorne  schools  only  emphasizes 
the  educational  progress  of  the  past  two  decades. 

As  Boise  has  busied  herself  about  other  problems,  and  as 
the  city  has  rapidly  enveloped  these  old  structures,  their 

193 


Buildings  and  Grounds 


193 


ROOSEVELT     (RSO) 
LOWELL.  (I'=I13) 

WASHINC^TOAJ    0*^*2) 
CEA/TRAL  (a^OS 

LOMGFELLOWOqoS) 


PARK 


0^02)1 


HIGH  SCHOOL  (I^Oi 
(iqo 


HAWTHORNE  (IPOQ) 

GARF/ELD  (I8q<^) 

LIAICOLN  <l8q6) 

whittieR.  Oeq^-) 


Fig.  29.    Ages  of  Boise  School  Buildings 

decreasing  efficiency  has  been  little  realized.  The  lack  of 
adequate  fire  protection,  the  insufficiency  of  lighting  and 
ventilation  in  many  of  the  classrooms,  the  lack  of  means 
for  humidifying  the  air,  the  use  of  unsanitary  basement 
rooms  for  janitors'  living  quarters,  the  lack  of  telephone 
connections  between  the  schools  and  the  superintendent's 
office,  the  inadequacy  of  library  facilities  and  almost  total 
absence  of  playground  equipment,  have  been  left  unnoticed 
or  unattended  to  for  so  long  that  they  seem  to  effect  no 
protest  from  the  community. 

The  problem  here  takes  on  three  aspects:  first,  the  im- 
^provement  of  the  present  buildings,  bringing  them  up  as 
nearly  to  the  standard  as  possible;  second,  the  abandonment 
of  the  oldest  buildings  and  replacing  them  with  modern 
structures;  third,  the  formulation  of  a  building  policy  that 
embodies  the  ideals  that  make  for  the  highest  school  effi- 
ciency. That  the  consideration  of  these  steps  may  be  based 
upon  existing  facts,  let  us  view  the  Boise  school  plant  in  the 
light  of  standard  measurements. 


194  The  Boise  Survey 

BUILDINGS   MEASURED  BY  STANDARD   SCALE 

The  method  used  is  the  application  of  the  "Score  Card 
for  City  School  Buildings,"  by  Dr.  George  D.  Strayer  of 
Columbia  University.  This  is  a  guide  for  the  inspection 
and  grading  of  school  buildings,  following  a  detailed  outline 
of  the  important  items  of  school-building  construction,  each 
of  which  is  accorded  a  standard  nimiber  of  points.  The 
scale  is  divided  into  looo  points,  divided  with  relative 
weighting  among  five  general  items:  Site,  Buildings  Service 
systems,  Classrooms ,  Special  rooms.  Each  of  these  is  di- 
vided into  several  smaller  items,  and  each  separate  part  is 
given  a  number  of  points  according  to  its  relative  importance. 
The  values  for  the  scale  have  been  derived  from  the  scorings 
of  a  large  number  of  persons  competent  to  judge  school 
buildings. 

The  ratings  of  the  Boise  buildings  were  made  by  the 
writer  after  a  careful  study  of  the  data  gathered  through  a 
personal  inspection  of  each  building,  accompanied  by  the 
school  principal.  The  study  also  included  interviews  with 
the  superintendent  of  buildings,  and  with  janitors,  teachers, 
and  otiier  school  officials,  as  well  as  the  checking  of  data  in 
the  office  of  the  superintendent.  It  is  believed  that  the 
observations  were  made  with  sufficient  accuracy  and 
thoroughness  to  warrant  the  judgments  rendered  on  at  least 
the  more  important  items. 

The  grading  of  each  building  in  comparison  with  the 
standard  is  presented  in  detail  in  Table  38.  The  compara- 
tive gross  ratings  are  shown  in  Figure  30.  The  number  of 
points  in  each  case,  represented  by  the  length  of  the  bar, 
may  be  easily  read  on  a  percentage  basis.  Thus,  the  Lowell 
School,  grading  837  points,  rates  87.7  per  cent;  the  high 
school,  83.6  per  cent,  etc.  The  lowest  rating  is  that  of  the 
Whittier  School,  59.6  per  cent.  These  figures  represent  only 
the  total  scores.  It  does  not  follow  that  because  a  school 
grades  higher  than  another  in  the  gross  score,  it  is  necessarily 
better  in  each  separate  item.    On  the  whole,  however,  the 


Buildings  and  Grounds 


195 


TABLE  38 
Ratings  of  Boise  School  Buildings  by  Strayer  Scale 


1 
1 

CO 

1 

1 

2 
S 

<u 

i 

■3 

1 

c 

u 

1 

1 

2 

-^ 

S 

c 
0 

1 

115 
50 
25 
40 

.§ 

3 
^ 

I.  Site  

125 

115 

1x8 

115 

124 

120 

118 

118 

105 
40 
30 
35 

120 

A.  Location 

B.  Drainage 

C.  Size,  form 

55 
30 
40 

55 
30 
30 

53 
30 
35 

55 
20 
40 

54 
30 

40 

55 
30 
35 

28 
35 

53 
25 
40 

55 
30 

35 

II.   Buildings 

165 

138 

145 

113 

105 

102 

148 

161 

126 

161 

108 

A.  Location 

B.  Exterior 

C.  Interior 

(Building  faces)  .... 

25 
60 
80 

22 
56 
60 
S 

21 
58 
66 
W 

23 
48 
42 
W 

22 
41 
42 
S 

18 
42 
42 

N 

23 
58 
67 

E 

30 
58 
73 

E 

21 

51 

54 

E-W 

30 
58 
73 
E 

18 
39 
51 

N 

III.   Service  Systems 

280 

212 

219 

160 

155 

167 

215 

218 

i6s 

218 

136 

A.  Heating,  ventilation 

B.  Fire  protection.    .    .    . 

C.  Cleaning  system  .    .    . 

D.  Artificial  lighting  .    .    . 

E.  Electric  systems   .    .    . 

F.  Water  supply    .... 

G.  Toilets 

H.  Mechanical  systems 

70 

65 
20 
20 
15 
30 
50 
10 

55 
42 
10 
15 
13 
25 
47 
5 

60 

50 
10 

15 
9 

25 

42 

8 

40 
32 
15 
10 
0 
20 

33 
10 

35 
29 
20 
10 
0 
20 

31 
10 

40 
32 
20 
10 
2 
20 

33 
10 

60 
51 
15 
15 
5 

23 
36 
10 

60 
48 

0 

25 
45 
10 

50 
37 
10 
10 
0 
20 

30 
8 

60 
48 
15 
15 
0 

25 
45 
10 

40 

31 
20 
10 
0 
20 

5 

10 

IV.    Classrooms 

290 

252 

267 

190 

212 

200 

252 

264 

239 

264 

185 

A.  Location,  connections  . 

B.  Construction,  finish.    . 

C.  Illumination 

D.  Cloakrooms 

E.  Equipment 

35 
90 

85 
25 
55 

30 

'0 
78 

15 
48 

35 
84 
83 
20 

45 
53 

30 
65 
50 
10 
35 
45 

35 
67 

50 
10 

50 
35 

35 
66 
50 
10 
39 
45 

35 
84 
78 
20 
35 

35 
87 
78 
20 
44 

30 
77 
67 
15 
50 

35 
87 
78 
20 
44 

35 
6S 
45 
8 
32 

V.   Special  Rooms 

140 

119 

53 

76 

60 

76 

28 

8 

40 

47 

A.  General  use 

B.  School  officials  .... 

C.  Others 

65 
35 
40 

48 
31 
40 

7 
16 

30 

10 

5 

30 

5 
0 

30 

7 

8 

30 

10 

8 

35 

28 

8 

40 

20 
10 
30 

9 
8 

30 

Total  Score 

1000 

836 

802 

623 

631 

634 

786 

837 

695 

834 

596 

196 


The  Boise  Survey 


potNTso      too    200     jyg    4<fo    jqo     apo     7fo    a(fo     ^    u 
LOWELL 


437 

HIGH  SCHOOL  6x 
\m3HINeiON  M 
CENTRAL  eo2 

LONGFEUGSN  lao 

P/JRK  695 

LINCOLti  eu 

H^JWTHORNE  «/ 

SAJRFIELD  62, 

WHITTIER  S06 

POINTS  < 


¥ 


aoo     U/oo 


Fig.  30.    Gross  Efficiency  Ratings  OF  Buildings,  BY  Strayer  Scale 

total  scores  are  a  good  relative  index  of  the  general  efficiency 
of  the  buildings.  The  ten  Boise  buildings  obtained  a  total 
score  of  7274  points.  By  the  standards  used  it  may  be  said 
that  the  efficiency  of  the  school  plant  is  approximately  73 
per  cent. 

Let  us  now  review  in  detail  the  observations  on  which 
the  scores  were  based.  The  outline  follows  the  items  as  they 
appear  in  Dr.  Strayer^s  scale. 


THE   SCHOOL   GROUNDS 

The  sites  chosen,  on  the  whole,  are  highly  favorable  from 
the  standpoint  of  accessibility  and  environment.  All  but  the 
Park  School  are  located  in  residence  districts,  which  are 
relatively  free  from  noise,  smoke,  etc.  Dusty  streets  are 
found  in  many  of  these  districts,  but  with  the  improvement 
of  street  sprinkling  and  the  extension  of  paving  this  objec- 
tionable feature  will  be  removed.  The  accessibility  of  most 
of  the  schools  to  the  homes  of  the  children  is  especially 
commendable. 

The  Park  School  has  a  most  unfortunate  location.  Its 
proximity  to  the  railroad  yards  and  business  streets  notice- 
ably impairs  the  school  work.  Often  in  warm  weather  it  is 
necessary  to  close  the  windows  in  some  of  the  classrooms  be- 


Buildings  and  Grounds  197 

cause  of  the  clouds  of  black  smoke  and  soot  which  drift  in 
from  locomotives  across  the  street.  The  noise  from  passing 
trucks  and  trains  frequently  interrupts  the  class  work.  It 
is  dangerous  for  children  to  have  to  cross  business  streets, 
going  to  and  from  school.  Traffic  regulations  should  be 
rigidly  enforced  on  the  three  streets  which  intersect  at  the 
corner  of  the  school  grounds.  A  special  officer  should  be 
stationed  at  this  point.  It  would  seem  that  the  value  of  this 
property  and  its  unsuitability  for  school  purposes  should 
lead  to  its  conversion  to  other  purposes. 

In  most  cases  the  soil  is  suitable  for  satisfactory  drain- 
age. There  should  be  sufficient  slope  on  all  sides  of  the 
buildings  so  that  the  water  will  quickly  run  off.  In  the 
Lowell  and  Longfellow  schools  there  is  room  for  improve- 
ment in  this  respect. 

The  grounds  range  in  size  from  10,000  square  feet  (Gar- 
field) to  66,600  square  feet  (Lowell).  There  is  usually  suffi- 
cient space  to  allow  from  50  to  100  square  feet  of  play  space 
for  each  child.  This  minimum  presupposes,  of  course,  that 
the  slope  of  the  grounds  is  adapted  to  play  purposes. 

Some  of  the  more  important  facts  relative  to  sites  and 
buildings  are  shown  in  Table  39. 


PLAYGROUND  EQUIPMENT 

There  is  practically  a  total  absence  of  playgroimd  appara- 
tus in  the  Boise  schools.  The  entire  equipment  consists  of 
one  portable  slide,  which  is  passed  around  from  school  to 
school  and  which  happened  to  be  at  the  Garfield  School  at 
the  time  of  the  survey.  In  two  of  the  schools  rough  turning 
bars  had  been  made  by  the  older  boys.  The  playgrounds 
are  as  handicapped  as  schoolrooms  would  be  if  there  were 
no  desks,  books,  or  pencils.  There  is  some  doubt  as  to 
whether  the  playground  can  be  said  to  be  less  important 
than  the  classroom.  Without  adequate  facilities  for  organ- 
ized play  the  children  are  deprived  not  only  of  the  enjo5mient 
they  deserve,  but  also  of  real  necessities  for  their  proper 


198 


The  Boise  Survey 


TABLE  39 

Miscellaneous  Data  on  School  Property  in  Boise  from  Figures 
Supplied  by  Superintendent  of  Buildings  and  Clerk  of  Board 
of  Trustees 


(A 

^ 

a 

0  J 

§ 

1 

-o 
6 

Property 

0.1 

§3 

0    G 

S  2 

fim 

;2;u 

^  C^ 

c^cq 

UPQ 

ooO 

UO 

12; 

ri902'| 

High  school   . 

]i9o8> 
U912J 

.... 

$213,000 

280  X  300 

$4S,ooo 

920 

Central    .   .  . 

1905 

IS 

3 

85  X  128 

S5,ooo 

150  X  300 

14,000 

387 

Garfield  .    .  . 

1899 

10 

62x75 

20,207 

K150  X  200) 

2,250 

251 

Hawthorne    . 

1900 

4 

36X55 

6,000 

I  acre 

7,500 

103 

Lincoln    .    .  . 

1896 

6 

I 

70x72 

12,000 

122  X  150 

14,000 

178 

Longfellow  .  . 

190S 

13 

I 

66  X  128 

50,000 

122  X300 

10,000 

431 

Lowell     .    .  . 

1913 

9 

I 

64  X  102 

31,234 

244x300 

5,000 

244 

Park    .... 

1902 

64X79 

.... 

1911 

16 

I 

52  X  104 

41,208 

K309  X  468) 

15,000 

415 

Washington  . 

1912 

8 

I 

64  X  102 

47,000 

244  X300 

15,000 

277 

Whittier  .    .  . 

1894 

7 

2 

68x78 

18,000 

122  X300 

9,000 

221 

Roosevelt  ^     . 

1920 

8 

4 

63  X  120 

60,000 

244  X  300 

8,000 

Athletic  Park. 

40  acres 

21,500 

Agric.  tract    . 

122  X  200 

8,000 

>  Roosevelt  buOding  now  under  construction. 


development.  A  relatively  large  vacant  space  is  in  itself  no 
longer  considered  a  "playground"  in  the  present-day  con- 
ception of  education.  There  should  be  at  least  a  minimum 
allotment  of  standard  apparatus  for  every  school,  based 
upon  the  distribution  and  the  ages  of  the  pupils. 


ORIENTATION  OF  BUILDINGS 


All  four  directions  of  the  compass  are  represented  in  the 
facings  of  Boise  school  buildings.  Three  face  east,  two  west, 
two  south,  two  north,  and  one  (Park)  has  frontage  on  both 


Buildings  and  Grounds  199 

east  and  west.  Evidently  their  orientation  has  been  deter- 
mined by  chance,  rather  than  by  the  requirements  of  school 
efficiency.  The  direction  which  a  building  faces  often  has 
much  to  do  with  the  amount  and  direction  of  the  light  in 
the  classrooms,  the  exposure  to  storms,  the  danger  from  ice- 
coated  or  wet  steps,  and  other  factors  definitely  related  to 
the  welfare  of  the  children. 

The  position  of  the  building  on  the  site  is  another  im- 
portant matter  in  which  external  appearance,  rather  than 
utility,  is  permitted  to  be  the  deciding  factor.  Many  of  the 
Boise  buildings  are  located  at  such  points  that  an  efficient 
playground  cannot  be  made  from  the  remaining  space.  The 
Park  School  (Fig.  31)  is  an  example  of  such  placing.  The 
Longfellow,  Central,  and  Whittier  schools  also  divide  the 
site  to  the  disadvantage  of  the  playground.  Improvement 
in  this  respect  must  be  confined  to  the  location  of  future 
buildings. 

TYPE   OF   BUILDINGS 

All  buildings  are  of  the  two-story-basement  type.  The 
older  buildings  are  square,  with  shingled  sloping  roofs.  The 
newer  ones  are  rectangular,  with  fiat  roofs.  All  are  con- 
structed of  brick,  six  being  of  pressed  or  hard  brick.  None 
of  the  buildings  may  be  said  to  be  strictly  fireproof.  All 
are  apparently  in  good  repair,  indicating  good  supervision 
on  the  part  of  the  building  inspector.  The  general  ap- 
pearance of  most  of  the  buildings  is  pleasing.  They  have 
evidently  been  built  for  strict  utility,  and  are  commendably 
free  from  the  extravagant  architectural  features  which  char- 
acterize the  schools  of  some  cities.  As  a  group  they  are,  in 
appearance,  creditable  public  buildings. 

INTERIOR  CONSTRUCTION 

Practically  all  interior  work,  including  walls,  floors,  and 
stairways,  is  of  wood  construction.  Stairways  at  Lowell 
and  Washington  and  in  the  newer  part  of  the  high  school 
are  overlaid  with  composition  material,  which  adds  much  to 


200 


The  Boise  Survey 


.-  — 3oqff 

Fig.  31.    Plan  of  School  Grounds  at  Park  School 
(From  measurements  made  by  principal  and  pupils) 


Buildings  and  Grounds  201 

their  efficiency.  In  the  other  buildings  the  wooden  steps, 
with  the  usual  noise,  dust,  and  unevenness  due  to  wear,  are 
noticeable  features  of  the  buildings.  The  resulting  risk 
from  fire  should  call  for  special  attention.  All  banisters  are 
of  wood,  and  in  no  case  is  there  a  lower  one  for  the  small 
children. 

The  corridors  appear  to  be  left-over  space  rather  than  to 
have  been  definitely  planned.  In  the  older  buildings  they  are 
too  narrow  and  too  poorly  arranged  to  allow  for  proper 
lighting  and  ventilation.  In  the  Central  School  the  wide 
hallway  is  used  as  an  auditorium,  in  the  absence  of  any  other 
space  for  assembly  purposes.  Corridors  should  range  from 
II  to  13  feet  in  width,  should  be  well  lighted  and  ventilated, 
suitable  for  decorations,  but  should  not  be  used  for  class- 
rooms. The  requirements  are  satisfactorily  met  in  the 
Lowell  and  Washington  schools.  All  corridors  were  found 
relatively  clean  and  free  from  obstructions.  There  is  a 
noticeable  lack  of  decoration  as  one  enters  the  buildings. 

BASEMENTS 

All  buildings  are  equipped  with  basements,  which  are 
generally  utilized  for  furnace,  storerooms,  and  toilets.  In 
most  cases  they  are  deeper  than  should  be  allowed,  and  in 
several  instances  the  walls  are  not  made  waterproof.  Light- 
ing, ventilation,  and  heating  in  these  rooms  are  wholly  in- 
adequate. A  basement  room  that  cannot  be  made  sanitary 
should  be  abandoned  for  any  school  purpose.  At  Lincoln, 
Central,  and  the  high  school,  the  janitors  live  in  this  under- 
ground space.  At  the  Longfellow  School  the  janitor  has  but 
recently  moved  out.  The  writer  closely  inspected  these 
quarters,  and  does  not  hesitate  to  pronounce  all  of  them 
unfit  for  human  habitation.  The  stained  and  crumbling 
walls  in  the  rooms  formerly  occupied  by  the  janitor's  family 
at  the  Longfellow  School  were  alone  sufficient  justification 
for  his  exodus.  At  the  other  schools  in  which  janitors  live 
the  conditions  are  fully  as  unfit.     Inadequate  toilet  and 


202  The  Boise  Survey 

laundry  facilities,  lack  of  ventilation,  and  the  necessity  for 
almost  constant  use  of  artificial  light  cause  one  to  wonder 
how  any  saving  can  be  effected  by  inducing  janitors  to 
occupy  such  places. 

The  furnace  rooms  are  for  the  most  part  located  in  dark 
parts  of  the  basement,  access  to  which  is  not  easy.  A  splen- 
did example  of  well-lighted  and  conveniently  arranged  fur- 
nace room  is  that  of  the  newer  wing  of  the  high  school.  This 
stands  in  striking  contrast  to  the  dingy  living  quarters  of 
the  janitor  in  the  other  end  of  the  building. 

HEATING  AND  VENTILATION 

The  heating  plants  of  the  new  buildings  are  of  the  plenum 
type,  but  various  sorts  of  systems,  even  to  the  use  of  stoves, 
may  be  found  in  the  city.  The  most  satisfactory  plants  are 
those  at  the  Lowell,  Washington,  Central,  and  Longfellow 
schools.  These  plants,  however,  are  more  strictly  for  heat- 
ing purposes,  and  little  or  no  correct  ventilation  is  obtained 
from  them.  Although  air  from  the  outside  is  drawn  in,  there 
is  no  provision  for  washing  it  or  adding  moisture.  At  the 
Longfellow  and  Central  schools  the  intakes  are  located  just 
above  the  level  of  the  playgrounds,  and  clouds  of  dirt  are 
constantly  blown  into  the  classrooms  by  the  fans.  The  dis- 
colored walls  and  ceilings  show  but  one  of  the  minor  results 
of  this.  The  injury  to  the  health  of  the  children  is  not  so 
apparent  but  is  of  vastly  more  importance.  At  the  high 
school  one  of  the  intakes  is  located  in  a  hidden  nook  just 
above  the  level  of  the  ground  on  the  flat  roof  of  the  furnace 
room,  a  space  which  serves  as  a  general  catch-all  for  blow- 
ing dirt,  trash,  etc.  Such  an  intake  is  very  unsatisfactory 
but  could  be  greatly  improved  by  elevating  the  intake  shaft 
to  a  higher  level,  a  change  that  would  be  feasible  and  in- 
expensive. 

One  of  the  greatest  limitations  in  the  heating  plants  of 
the  Boise  schools  lies  in  the  absence  of  any  method  for 
adding  moisture  to  the  warmed  air  which  the  fans  force  into 


Buildings  and  Grounds  203 

the  schoolrooms.  Increasing  the  temperature  of  the  air 
in  the  winter  to  the  extent  necessary  for  heating  decreases 
the  ratio  of  moisture  as  much  as  60  or  70  per  cent.  In  other 
words,  the  air  taken  into  the  furnace  rooms  on  an  ordinary 
winter  day  is  delivered  to  the  pupils  with  perhaps  one  third 
as  much  moisture  as  the  same  volume  of  air  originally  con- 
tained. As  a  result,  the  air  of  some  schoolrooms  is  drier 
than  that  of  a  desert.  Moreover,  as  already  suggested,  it 
may  be  accompanied  by  many  dust  particles  which  attack 
the  dry  membranes  of  the  nose  and  throat.  The  resulting 
danger  from  contagious  diseases,  to  say  nothing  of  the  dis- 
comfort to  pupils  and  teachers,  is  greater  than  is  commonly 
realized.  Several  methods  have  been  devised  for  introducing 
moisture  into  warmed  air,  and  their  cost  is  more  than  com- 
pensated by  the  lessening  of  one  of  the  greatest  evils  of  the 
schoolroom. 


FIRE  PROTECTION 

In  the  recent  survey  of  the  schools  of  Denver,  Dr.  Ter- 
man  wrote  concerning  fire  protection  in  the  schools: 

Notwithstanding  the  large  number  of  school  buildings  of  old 
construction,  and  notwithstanding  the  many  antiquated  heating 
plants  still  in  use,  the  school  children  of  Denver  are  well  guarded 
from  the  danger  of  fire.  All  the  buildings  having  two  or  more 
stories  are  reasonably  well  supplied  with  fire  escapes.  Nearly  all 
classrooms  are  provided  with  two  doors,  and  panic  bolts  are  to  be 
found  on  the  outside  doors  of  all  buildings. 

Although  similar  conditions  prevail  in  Boise  with  reference 
to  the  age  of  school  buildings  and  the  dangers  from  other 
sources,  it  cannot  be  said  that  the  children  are  "well  guarded 
from  the  danger  of  fire."  There  are  but  two  fire  escapes  in 
the  entire  school  plant.  One  of  these  is  at  the  Garfield 
School,  opening  from  a  window  of  the  attic,  which  is  used 
for  a  classroom.  The  other  is  at  the  rear  of  the  Hawthorne 
School  and  is  made  entirely  of  wood.  There  is  not  a  panic 
bolt  in  the  entire  city,  and  many  classrooms  have  but  one 


204  ^*^  Boise  Survey 

door.  No  building  is  equipped  with  fire  doors.  Four  of  the 
buildings  —  Whittier,  Hawthorne,  Garfield,  and  Lincoln  — 
have  no  fire  hose.  In  the  other  schools  the  water  connected 
with  the  fire  hose  is  turned  off  in  the  basement  at  what 
seems  to  be  the  most  inaccessible  point  in  the  building.  In 
the  Longfellow  and  Park  schools  it  is  necessary  to  crawl 
through  dark  passages  in  order  to  reach  the  tap.  This  is 
due,  the  survey  staff  was  told,  to  the  supposition  that  if  the 
fire  hose  could  be  turned  on  from  the  halls  it  would  be 
tampered  with  by  the  pupils.^ 

All  buildings  are  equipped  with  some  form  of  hand  ex- 
tinguisher, although  the  supply  is  insufficient.  In  some  in- 
stances these,  too,  are  in  places  which  are  not  readily  ac- 
cessible. Teachers  and  principals  should  be  better  in- 
structed with  reference  to  the  location  and  use  of  apparatus. 
One  teacher  stated  that  for  several  years  she  has  had  a 
fire  extinguisher  hanging  near  the  door  of  her  classroom,  but 
that  she  had  not  the  remotest  idea  how  she  would  make  use 
of  it  in  case  of  fire.  Some  teachers  do  not  know  where  the 
extinguishers  are  located.  It  would  doubtless  require  some 
time  for  them  to  find  one  during  the  excitement  of  a  fire. 

The  fire  alarm  is  sounded  on  the  regular  school  gongs, 
which  are  of  the  spring  type,  operated  by  pulling  a  cord. 
There  are  no  electric  signals  and  no  connection  with  the  city 
fire  department  except  where  out-of-door  alarm  boxes  occur 
near  the  school.  In  most  cases  it  is  necessary  to  cross  the 
playground  or  the  street  to  reach  the  alarm.  There  is  no 
method  of  signaling  from  the  basements  or  upper  stories, 
the  gong  usually  being  operated  from  the  main  floor  only. 

The  electric  wiring  appears  to  have  been  well  done  and 
has  been  subjected  to  rigid  inspection.  Protection  from 
this  source,  however,  should  be  systematically  considered. 

1  The  writer  made  special  inquiry  on  Uiis  point,  and  found  that  the 
principals,  with  one  exception,  believed  this  excuse  to  be  absolutely  ground- 
less. It  is  purely  a  matter  of  supervision,  they  said,  whether  or  not  pupils 
tampered  with  the  hose.  Even  if  it  were  true,  we  are  unable  to  see  how 
such  an  order  could  have  been  given,  when  the  very  lives  of  the  children 
are  at  stake. 


Buildings  and  Grounds  205 

The  fireproofness  of  the  buildings  has  already  received 
comment.  The  fact  that  all  are  of  inflammable  construction 
should  in  itself  be  sufficient  reason  for  better  extinguishing 
apparatus.  Eleven  years  ago  the  disastrous  school  fire  at 
Collinwood,  Ohio^  occurred.  The  origin  of  the  fire  is  un- 
known, but  it  was  supposed  to  have  resulted  from  defective 
furnace  piping.  The  building  was  a  two-story  brick  struc- 
ture, with  wood  floors,  stairways,  and  partitions,  as  are  the 
schools  in  Boise.  In  type  it  resembled  the  Garfield,  Lincoln, 
and  Whittier  schools,  except  that  it  was  provided  with  iron 
fire  escapes  and  panic  bolts  on  all  outside  doors.  When  the 
fire  alarm  was  sounded  the  children  in  the  upper  classrooms 
passed  through  the  coat  rooms,  which  open  into  the  corridor, 
as  they  do  in  Boise,  and  crowded  together  in  the  hallway. 
Before  the  congestion  could  be  relieved  the  flames  swept 
through  the  building,  and  173  children  and  2  teachers  were 
burned  to  death.  Although  Boise  has  had  no  such  experi- 
ence as  yet,  the  tragedy  could  be  repeated  here  at  any  time. 
No  efforts  should  be  spared  to  secure  the  best  protection 
possible  to  the  lives  of  the  children. 

Special  commendation  is  due  for  the  excellence  of  the 
fire  drills  in  the  Boise  schools  and  the  frequency  with  which 
they  are  held.  The  writer  has  never  seen  school  buildings 
emptied  more  quickly  and  with  less  confusion  than  he  wit- 
nessed in  Boise.  Every  building  was  emptied  in  less  than 
one  minute,  and  in  some  cases  the  entire  time  consumed, 
from  the  ringing  of  the  gong  to  the  exit  of  the  last  pupil,  was 
but  40  seconds.  While  this  does  not,  and  cannot,  entirely 
make  up  for  the  lack  of  other  fire  protection,  it  is  a  relief  to 
know  that  such  an  excellent  practice  is  in  effect. 

CLEANING  SYSTEM 

No  mechanical  systems  for  cleaning  have  been  installed. 
Janitors  use  brooms  and  sweeping  compound.  An  ample 
supply  of  the  compound  was  found  in  all  buildings,  and  no 
difficulty  seems  to  be  encountered  in  securing  enough  for  its 


2o6  The  Boise  Survey 

daily  use.  Feather  dusters  have  been  abolished/  On  the 
whole,  the  buildings  were  found  to  be  clean  and  orderly. 
Floors  are  cleaned  and  oiled  once  a  year.  In  Boise  this  is 
not  sufficient,  as  may  be  inferred  from  the  large  areas  from 
which  the  oil  has  been  worn  off.  The  nature  of  the  soil  in 
this  locality  is  such  that  it  acts  almost  with  the  efficiency  of 
sand-paper  when  adhering  to  the  soles  of  shoes.  Wherevei- 
oil  is  thus  removed,  the  floor  becomes  absorbent  and  retains 
particles  of  dirt  with  the  disease  germs  that  often  adhere  to 
them.  Three  or  four  oilings  a  year  would  be  none  too  many. 
Vacuum-cleaning  systems  should  be  installed  in  future 
buildings. 

Windows  are  washed  twice  a  year  in  most  of  the  schools. 
All  instructions  relative  to  such  matters  are  issued  by  the 
superintendent  of  buildings,  and  principals  are  not  author- 
ized to  issue  modifying  or  additional  orders.  Some  of  the 
bad  results  of  this  may  be  observed  by  visitors  to  the  schools. 
The  necessity  for  placing  janitors  under  the  direct  super- 
vision of  the  principal  is  referred  to  elsewhere  in  this  report. 

ARTIFICIAL  LIGHTING 

Provisions  for  illuminating  the  school  buildings  during 
the  evenings  or  on  dark  days  are  inadequate.  Electric  wir- 
ing is  limited  chiefly  to  the  principals'  offices,  halls,  base- 
ments, and  a  few  classrooms.  In  anticipation  of  the  wider 
use  of  the  school  plant  for  community  service,  all  buildings, 
or  at  least  the  newer  ones,  should  be  well  equipped  for 
electric  lighting. 

CLOCKS,  GONGS,  TELEPHONES 

Electric  bell  systems  connected  with  clocks  have  been 
installed    only    in    the    high    school    and    at    the    Cen- 

1  One  janitor,  evidently  under  the  impression  that  the  prohibition  of 
feather  dusters  was  purely  a  matter  of  economy  on  the  part  of  the  board 
of  education,  purchased  one  himself  and  generously  contributes  its  daily 
use  to  the  school.  He  was  highly  surprised  when  told  that  the  ruling  was 
based  on  hygienic  principles.  This  suggests  the  need  for  a  lecture  course 
for  janitors. 


Buildings  and  Grounds  207 

tral  School.  The  latter  system  has  been  out  of  order  for 
some  time,  and  was  not  operating  during  the  survey  period. 
A  general  lack  of  clocks,  even  of  the  ordinary  type,  was 
noted.  All  schoolrooms  should  have  clocks,  preferably  self- 
winding, with  central  and  bell  connections. 

Gongs  are  operated  by  hand.  These  should  be  replaced 
as  soon  as  possible  by  electric  gongs  which  may  ring  by 
push  button  from  all  parts  of  the  building.  This  is  espe- 
cially necessary  for  purposes  of  sounding  the  fire  alarm. 
There  should  also  be  connections  with  the  city  fire  depart- 
ment, to  avoid  the  delay  resulting  from  finding  the  fire  alarm 
box  on  the  street. 

One  of  the  most  serious  needs  in  the  physical  equipment 
is  for  telephones.  Even  at  the  high  school  there  are  but 
three,  including  those  in  the  offices  of  the  superintendent 
and  principal.  None  is  provided  for  the  elementary  schools. 
The  amount  of  time  wasted  during  the  course  of  a  school 
year,  if  it  could  be  accurately  tabulated,  would  probably 
convince  any  one  that  no  economy  is  eflFected  by  the  lack  of 
communication  facilities.  In  one  school  the  teachers  con- 
tribute to  a  fund  for  part  rental  of  the  telephone  in  the 
janitor ^s  basement  quarters.  In  one  instance  the  principal 
pays  for  the  use  of  a  telephone  in  a  neighboring  residence. 
Boys  are  taken  from  their  classes  to  carry  messages  which 
could  be  just  as  well  conveyed  by  telephone.  When  we 
realize  that  modern  school  buildings  are  being  equipped  with 
regular  telephone  connections,  with  private  systems  con- 
necting all  classrooms,  we  may  justly  urge  improvement  of 
the  Boise  schools  in  this  respect. 


DRINKING  FOUNTAINS 

Drinking  fountains  are  provided  for  all  schools,  but  in 
insufficient  number,  at  least  in  the  elementary  schools.  All 
fountains  are  located  indoors.  The  "drinking  line"  follow- 
ing recess  periods,  a  characteristic  feature  in  the  Boise 
schools,  testifies  to  the  need  for  more  fountains.    The  chil- 


2o8  The  Boise  Survey 

dren  enter  the  building  in  single  files,  one  column  for  each 
fountain,  and  drink  each  in  turn.  Although  in  most  in- 
stances this  was  carried  on  with  reasonably  good  order,  the 
method  does  not  lend  itself  to  the  best  results.  The  ne- 
cessity for  hurried,  formal  stops  prevents  some  children  from 
drinking  all  they  want  and  drinking  in  the  correct  manner.^ 
The  writer  observed  instances  of  children  passing  by  the 
fountain  without  drinking,  rather  than  go  through  this  for- 
mality. 

It  appears  that  the  distribution  of  drinking  fountains  has 
been  governed,  if  at  all,  by  factors  other  than  the  distribu- 
tion of  the  children.  At  the  Lincoln  School,  for  example, 
there  are  four  fountains  for  about  i8o  children.  At  the 
Longfellow  School  the  same  number  of  fountains  are  pro- 
vided for  440  children.  There  are  also  four  each  in  the 
Whittier  School  for  221  children  and  at  Central  for  387 
children.  These  are  located  in  the  ends  of  the  halls,  two 
on  each  floor,  their  use  being  confined  largely  to  the  period 
of  the  "drinking  line."  The  location  of  fountains  should  be 
based  upon  their  accessibility  at  times  when  children  are 
most  apt  to  want  a  drink,  and  the  number  should  be  based 
upon  the  number  of  children  using  them.  All  playgrounds 
should  be  provided  with  fountains  in  addition  to  the  regular 
number  indoors.  There  should  be  a  fountain  for  every  75 
children.  The  drinking  of  plenty  of  fresh  water  during  the 
day  is  a  health  requirement  that  the  schools  can  well  afford 
to  encourage  with  an  adequate  supply  of  cool  bubbling 
fountains. 

LAVATORIES  AND  BATHS 

Wash  basins  have  been  installed  in  the  basements  of  most 
of  the  buildings,  but  no  bathing  facilities  are  provided  in  the 
elementary  schools.  School  baths  are  imperative  if  health 
and  sanitation  are  to  be  properly  taught.    Showers  could  be 

1  A  special  observation  was  made  at  one  of  the  schools  relative  to  the 
correct  use  of  the  drinking  fountains.  Nearly  one  half  of  the  children  ob- 
served touched  the  metal  parts  with  their  mouths.  This  is  due,  perhaps, 
not  so  much  to  haste  as  to  the  lack  of  instruction. 


Buildings  and  Grounds  209 

installed  in  all  buildings  at  relatively  small  expense.  Their 
cost  would  be  more  than  compensated  by  the  educational 
and  social  results  which  could  be  obtained  from  their  use. 
Fortunately,  roller  towels  and  common  soap  have  been  ban- 
ished from  the  Boise  schools. 


TOILETS 

In  Dr.  Strayer^s  looo-point  scale  for  grading  buildings  an 
allowance  of  50  points  is  made  for  toilets.  The  schools  in 
Boise  grade  from  5  to  47  points  in  respect  to  this  item.  The 
best  systems  were  found  at  the  high  school,  Lowell,  Wash- 
ington, and  Central.  The  others  may  be  said  to  be  dis- 
tinctly inferior.  They  are  inadequate,  poorly  located,  and 
unsanitary.  Little  or  no  effort  has  been  made  to  grade  the 
height  of  the  seats  according  to  the  size  of  the  pupils.  The 
automatic  flushing  system  which  operates  only  during  recess 
periods  or  at  the  option  of  the  janitor  should  be  replaced  by 
a  more  up-to-date  system.  In  some  cases  the  intervals  be- 
tween flushing  is  too  long.  At  times  the  system  fails  to 
operate.  It  is  the  common  practice  of  the  janitor  to  turn 
the  water  on  only  during  recess  and  play  periods,  notwith- 
standing the  fact  that  they  are  used  by  the  children  during 
the  regular  school  hours.  This  illustrates  another  significant 
result  of  keeping  from  the  principals  the  authority  for  jani- 
torial supervision. 

The  worst  toilets  are  those  of  the  Park  and  Whittier 
schools.  The  former  are  located  in  the  passageway  between 
the  old  and  new  parts  of  the  building.  (See  plan  in  Figure 
31.)  Were  it  not  for  the  fact  that  they  are  above  ground 
and  well  lighted,  they  could  be  justly  condemned.  In  order 
to  pass  from  one  part  of  the  building  to  the  other,  it  is  nec- 
essary to  go  either  through  these  toilets  or  to  use  a  frame 
bridge  which  has  been  attached  to  the  exterior  of  this  con- 
necting section.  The  arrangement  makes  the  toilets  ac- 
cessible, however,  both  from  the  playgrounds  and  from  other 
parts  of  the  building. 


2  10  The  Boise  Survey 

The  Whittier  toilet  is  one  of  the  worst  the  writer  has  ever, 
seen  at  a  city  school.  Located  in  a  small,  flat-roofed  build- 
ing without  windows,  it  receives  no  light,  heat,  or  ventilation. 
Were  it  not  for  the  assistance  of  the  janitor,  in  whose  hands 
rests  the  authority  to  turn  on  the  electric  light,  the  interior 
of  the  building  would  have  been  in  total  darkness.  The 
use  of  this  light,  the  janitor  stated,  is  limited  to  recess  and 
play  periods.  This  toilet  is  equipped  with  the  "range"  sys- 
tem of  seats,  the  flushing  of  which  automatically  occurs 
every  15  to  18  minutes  between  the  hours  of  10  and  3  only. 
The  two  sides,  for  boys  and  girls  respectively,  contain  but 
five  seats  each,  all  of  the  same  height,  and  a  single  roll  of 
toilet  paper  is  provided  in  each  division  of  the  building.  The 
floors  and  walls  are  damp,  and  the  place  could  be  no  less 
sanitary  if  it  were  located  50  feet  underground.  The  build- 
ing inspector  concurs  in  the  writer's  opinion  that  this  toilet 
should  be  immediately  condemned. 

Few  of  the  buildings  are  provided  with  separate  rolls  of 
toilet  paper  for  each  seat.  The  argument  that  to  do  so 
would  result  in  the  occasional  waste  of  paper  should  be 
ignored,  in  the  light  of  health  and  sanitation.  The  toilet 
rooms  should  be  thoroughly  disinfected  and  cleaned  at  regu- 
lar and  frequent  intervals.  Wherever  possible,  provision 
should  be  made  for  letting  more  daylight  into  these  rooms. 
The  floors  and  walls  should  be  more  often  treated  with  a 
non-absorbent.  Cement  is  not  a  satisfactory  material  for 
toilet  floors  by  reason  of  the  almost  unpreventable  action 
produced  by  uric  acid.  Asphalt  or  tile  floors  are  far  su- 
perior. The  toilet  rooms  should  be  as  well  lighted  and  as 
clean  as  any  other  room  in  the  building.  Their  location  in 
the  basement  should  call  for  additional  emphasis  on  these 
points,  rather  than  serve  as  an  excuse  for  their  negligence. 

CLASSROOMS 

As  a  rule,  the  classrooms  have  been  well  located  and  have 
received  considerable  attention  in  the  planning  of  the  build- 


Buildings  and  Grounds 


211 


ings,  at  least  as  regards  accessibility  and  convenience.  They 
approach  the  standard  size  and  shape  as  well  as  may  be  ex- 
pected from  the  age  of  the  buildings.  The  floors  are  gen- 
erally of  hard  wood  and  are  in  good  condition.  The  doors 
open  outward  and  in  the  newer  buildings  are  constructed 
without  thresholds  and  transoms.  The  walls  are  hard,  dur- 
able plaster,  although  of  an  undesirable  rough  finish  in  some 
buildings. 

BLACKBOARDS 

Of  the  86  classrooms  reporting,  53  were  equipped  with 
slate  blackboards,  2  5  with  coated  plaster,  and  8  with  compo- 
sition boards.  The  newer  buildings  are  equipped  with 
slate.  The  plaster  and  composition  boards  are  unsatisfac- 
tory, as  they  crack  easily,  wear  smooth,  and  are  subject  to 
other  limitations.  Slate  or  ground-glass  boards  should  be 
substituted  for  these  wherever  possible. 

Measurements  made  by  the  teachers  show  that  the  black- 
boards in  many  of  the  rooms  are  set  without  much  regard 
for  the  heights  of  the  children  who  use  them.  The  stand- 
ards for  school-building  construction  call  for  a  carefully 
graduated  scale  of  heights,  from  grade  to  grade,  ranging 

TABLE  40 

Height  of  Blackboards  (from  Floor  to  Chalk  Rail)  in  Newer  Build- 
ings OF  Boise,  in  Comparison  with  Standard  Heights.  Measure- 
ments Made  by  Teachers 


Grade 

Standard 

Central 

Longfellow 

Lowell 

Washington 

8 

30  m. 

40  in. 

39  in. 

32  in. 

7 

30  " 

36-39  " 

39  " 

32  " 

6 

28  " 

31  " 

39  " 

31-34  " 

30-34  in. 

5 

28  " 

30-40  " 

36-39  " 

32  " 

30-34  " 

4 

26  " 

30-40  " 

30  " 

34  " 

31-32  « 

3 

26  " 

31  " 

31  " 

26-34  " 

28-34  " 

2 

24  " 

29-40  " 

30  " 

26-34  " 

28-34  " 

1 

24  " 

40  " 

30  " 

32  " 

212 


The  Boise  Survey 


from  24  to  30  inches  for  the  elementary  schools  and  from 
32  to  36  inches  for  the  high  school.  The  comparison  for 
three  of  the  newer  buildings  is  shown  in  Table  40.  These 
are  representative  of  the  whole  city.  Wherever  the  boards 
are  too  high,  as  in  the  case  of  the  lower  grades  of  the  Central 
School,  they  should  be  lowered,  or  a  platform  built  under- 
neath to  bring  the  children  to  the  height  necessary.  Of 
these  two  corrective  measures,  the  former  has  more  advan- 
tages. In  the  Lowell  School,  one  of  the  newest  in  the  city, 
the  blackboards  are  consistently  too  high.  In  future  build- 
ings the  standard  heights  should  be  insisted  upon. 


LIGHTING  OF   CLASSROOMS 

Approximately  one  half  of  the  classrooms  in  the  Boise 
schools  are  correctly  lighted.  Five  of  the  buildings  are 
constructed  for  unilateral  lighting,  with  reasonably  satis- 
factory distribution.  Four  of  the  buildings,  Garfield,  Haw- 
thorne, Lincoln,  and  Whittier,  have  retained  the  back-left 
lighting,  together  with  other  undesirable  features  common  to 
buildings  erected  twenty  years  ago.  The  standard  ratio  of 
one-fifth  glass  area  to  floor  area  is  obtained  in  about  two 
thirds  of  the  classrooms.  The  distribution  may  be  seen  in 
Figure  32. 

Of  a  total  of  the  2>7,  rooms  reporting,  18  are  provided  with 
one  square  foot  of  glass  to  every  four  square  feet  of  floor 
space.  In  37  rooms  the  ratio  is  1:5;  in  13  rooms,  1:6;  and 
in  II  rooms,  less  than  1:6.    In  one  room  the  teacher^s  meas- 


sansFac  torv  i  iqhtino- 


■POOf?  LIGHT! N9- 


FiG.  32.    Distribution  of  Window-Glass  Area  in  Boise  Schoolrooms 


Buildings  and  Grounds  213 

urements  revealed  a  ratio  of  1:18.  There  are  perhaps  800 
children  in  Boise  who  regularly  attend  classrooms  in  which 
the  construction  of  the  building  makes  it  impossible  to  se- 
cure sufficient  daylight. 

WINDOWS 

Fully  as  important  as  the  glass  area  is  the  location  of  the 
windows.  The  lighting  of  schoolrooms  exclusively  from  the 
pupils'  left,  as  shown  in  Figure  33,  has  long  been  an  ac- 
cepted standard  for  school  buildings.  Windows  on  two 
sides  of  the  room,  however,  were  found  in  5  schools  and  in 
a  total  of  24  rooms.^  In  many  of  these  rooms  the  windows 
have  been  placed  far  enough  apart  so  that  the  intervening 
space  may  be  used  for  blackboards.  This  causes  the  light 
to  enter  in  streaks,  and  often  the  pupils'  desks  are  located 
in  the  shadows.  Photometric  tests  which  have  been  made 
in  rooms  of  this  kind  show  that  such  places  are  so  dark  that 
eye  strain  is  sure  to  result  from  their  use.  Few  business 
men  would  tolerate  such  lighting  in  their  offices.  The  space 
between  windows  should  never  exceed  12  inches,  and  it  is 
preferable  to  have  the  windows  in  steel  frames  which  en- 
tirely replace  the  part  of  the  brick  or  stone  structure  which 
occurs  in  the  lighting  area. 

Rear  windows  should  be  permanently  blocked,  or  at  least 
treated  so  as  to  minimize  their  blinding  effect.  Not  only  is 
the  teacher  compelled  to  face  them  for  long  periods,  with 
resulting  eye  strain,  but  every  pupil  is  directly  in  his  own 
light.  The  cross  lights  in  rooms  lighted  from  two  sides 
produce  numerous  evil  effects. 

WINDOW  SHADES 

The  window  shades,  except  in  the  Lowell  and  Washington 
schools,  are  unsatisfactory.  The  common  opaque  green 
shade  suspended  from  the  top  of  the  window  only  serves  to 
cut  down  the  amount  of  light  and  to  eliminate  the  light 
nearest  the  ceiling,  which  is  the  most  essential  part.    The 

1  The  Longfellow  School  has  unilateral  lighting  in  all  but  one  room. 


214 


The  Boise  Survey 


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Buildings  and  Grounds  215 

figures  showing  that  two  thirds  of  the  rooms  have  sufficient 
light  only  apply  with  the  shades  removed  from  the  windows. 
Most  teachers  do  not  know  how  to  operate  window  shades, 
and  cannot  be  expected  to  learn  with  the  window  equipment 
provided.  The  writer  visited  rooms  having  the  standard 
one-fifth  window  to  floor  area  in  which  the  position  of  the 
shades  reduced  this  proportion  to  less  than  one  tenth.  In 
fact,  it  is  quite  common  to  find  but  one  half  of  the  window 
space  in  use  where  opaque  top-rolling  shades  are  used. 
Some  teachers  apparently  think  tiiat  the  appearance  of  their 
room  is  improved  by  keeping  the  shades  pulled  down  to  the 
middle  of  the  window.  If  the  shades  rolled  at  the  bottom, 
the  same  aesthetic  effect  could  be  produced  with  better  light- 
ing results.  Correctly  built  window  shades  are  completely 
adjustable,  and  are  made  of  translucent  material.  The 
purpose  of  a  shade  is  not  to  cut  down  the  amount  of  light, 
but  only  to  prevent  direct  sunlight  from  striking  the  desks. 
Translucent  shades  diffuse  these  direct  rays  without  the 
total  loss  of  light.  With  better  knowledge  of  correct  lighting 
and  with  better  equipment,  teachers  may  be  relied  upon  for 
more  uniform  results. 

CLOAKROOMS   AND  WARDROBES 

Cloakrooms  are  mostly  of  the  closed  type,  and  do  not 
lend  themselves  to  good  lighting,  ventilation,  or  ready  super- 
vision. Future  buildings  should  have  wardrobes  constructed 
with  classroom  connections,  as  shown  in  Figure  33. 

CLASSROOM   EQUIPMENT 

Seats  and  desks  are  of  the  stationary,  non-adjustable  type, 
except  in  the  Park  School  and  in  a  few  rooms  in  other  build- 
ings. At  the  Longfellow  School  many  desks  are  incorrectly 
placed,  and  can  be  changed  only  by  laborious  effort  involved 
in  removing  and  replacing  the  screws  by  which  they  are  se- 
cured to  the  floor.  The  placing  and  adjusting  of  desks 
should  always  be  done  under  the  direct  supervision  of  the 
principal,  and  not  left  to  janitors  or  carpenters. 


2i6  The  Boise  Survey 

Teachers'  desks  are  all  placed  on  the  floor,  usually  to  one 
side  of  the  room,  without  platforms.  This  is  to  be  com- 
mended. The  teacher's  platform,  inherited  from  the  early 
schools,  is  still  too  frequently  found  in  other  cities. 

Classroom  bulletin  boards  were  found  in  several  schools. 
These  are  a  valuable  asset  to  the  teachers,  and  their  wider 
use  should  be  encouraged.  Teachers  who  have  them  speak 
highly  of  their  instructional  value.  Tacking  space  over  the 
blackboards  should  be  provided  wherever  possible. 

SPECIAL  ROOMS 

In  regard  to  this  item  the  Boise  schools  are  especially 
limited.  There  is  not  an  auditorium,  library,  gymnasium, 
lunch  room,  or  satisfactory  playroom  in  any  of  the  ele- 
mentary schools.  The  need  for  playrooms  is  especially 
urgent,  as  testified  by  the  efforts  made  by  the  principals  to 
utilize  vacant  space  for  this  purpose.  The  basement  rooms 
at  the  Washington  and  Lowell  schools  serve  in  an  emergency, 
but  in  view  of  the  many  purposes  to  which  it  is  necessary 
to  put  them,  do  not  satisfactorily  meet  the  needs  of  the 
school.  Fortunately,  the  climate  of  Boise  permits  of  many 
out-of-door  days  for  play.  The  lack  of  gymnasiums  is  a 
good  argument  for  the  better  equipment  of  the  playgrounds. 
The  use  of  corridors  for  auditorium  purposes  is  not  the  best 
practice,  because  of  the  inadequate  heating,  lighting,  and 
ventilation.  The  eating  of  lunches  in  the  classrooms  is  not 
to  be  encouraged.  Relatively  few  of  the  children  in  Boise 
bring  their  lunches,  however,  and  there  are  indications  that 
satisfactory  supervision  is  obtained  for  those  who  do  remain 
over  the  noon  hour. 

The  newer  buildings  contain  principals*  offices,  but  in  the 
older  ones  it  has  been  necessary  to  resort  to  makeshift.  The 
present  teaching  schedule  for  principals  leaves  little  time  to 
attend  to  office  duties,  but  the  need  is  none  the  less  impor- 
tant. The  business  of  a  large  school  like  Park  cannot  be 
efficiently  transacted  in  a  blocked-off  hallway.    Rest  rooms 


Buildings  and  Grounds 


217 


*i^y£-/rAfs  POINTS-^ 

Fig.  34.   Relation  between  Age  and  Efficiency  of  Boise  School  Buildings 


for  teachers  are  also  too  few  in  number.  In  no  case  has  the 
school  provided  proper  equipment  for  these.  The  rest  room 
at  the  Central  School  was  furnished  by  donation  from  the 
teachers.  In  most  of  the  other  schools  the  principal's  office 
serves  in  lieu  of  other  special  rooms.  The  school  nurse  uses 
the  hallway  where  other  space  does  not  happen  to  be  vacant. 
Janitors  have  no  separate  rooms,  except  where  basement 
living  quarters  are  provided,  and  usually  sit  in  the  furnace 
room  or  in  the  hallway. 


AGE  AND  EFFICIENCY 

That  the  efficiency  of  a  building  decreases  with  age  is  not 
surprising.    Many  of  the  items  on  which  efficiency  is  judged 


2i8  The  Boise  Survey 

refer  to  improvements  of  relatively  recent  origin.  Where 
buildings  have  been  reconstructed,  or  where  additions  have 
been  made,  th^  improvement  of  the  general  quality  of  the 
school  has  usually  followed.  This  is  manifestly  true  of  the 
high  school.  The  two  newer  wings  make  up  for  many  of 
the  shortcomings  of  the  old  central  portion. 

The  interesting  relation  between  age  and  efficiency  in  the 
Boise  school  buildings  is  shown  in  Figure  34.  The  arrange- 
ment of  the  elementary  schools  according  to  their  ratings  is 
exactly  the  reverse  of  their  arrangement  according  to  age. 
The  newer  the  building,  the  higher  its  score. 

This  relation  is  not  entirely  due  to  the  structural  advan- 
tages of  the  newer  schools.  Poorer  equipment  is  tolerated 
in  an  old  building  than  would  be  permitted  in  a  new  one. 
This  distinction  is  often  unconscious  on  the  part  of  school 
officials,  but  it  is  common.  Even  an  acknowledgment  of 
the  greater  danger  from  fire  is  not  made  apparent  by  more 
extensive  equipment  in  old  buildings.  These  conditions  may 
easily  be  corrected. 

SUMMARY  AND  RECOMMENDATIONS 

1.  The  school  plant  in  Boise,  although  favorable  in 
some  respects,  presents  one  of  the  most  important  educa- 
tional problems  in  the  city.  None  of  the  buildings  attains 
the  standard,  and  many  are  far  below.  Some  of  the  older 
buildings,  including  Hawthorne,  Garfield,  Lincoln,  and 
Whittier,  should  undergo  some  reconstruction  or  be  replaced 
by  modern  structures. 

2.  The  average  rating  of  the  buildings  on  the  Strayer 
Scale  is  about  73  per  cent.  The  buildings  score  from  596 
to  837  on  a  scale  of  1000  points. 

3.  The  locations  of  the  schools,  with  the  exception  of 
that  of  the  Park  School,  are  desirable  and  convenient.  The 
grounds  meet  the  standard  minimum  for  play  space,  but 
are  entirely  devoid  of  apparatus.  It  is  recommended  that 
standard  playground  equipment  be  supplied  to  all  schools. 


Buildings  and  Grounds  219 

4.  The  city  is  to  be  commended  on  the  fact  that  the 
school  buildings  have  been  constructed  for  utility  and  are 
consequently  free  from  superfluous  architectural  features. 

5.  It  is  recommended  that  living  quarters  other  than  the 
basement  be  provided  for  janitors.  The  erection  of  a  small 
portable  building  on  or  near  the  school  grounds  would  be 
more  desirable.  The  walls  and  floors  of  the  basements 
should  be  better  protected  from  the  seepage  of  water. 

6.  The  heating  system  should  be  equipped  with  fa- 
cilities for  washing  and  adding  moisture  to  the  air  driven 
into  the  schoolrooms.  Intakes  should  be  elevated,  wherever 
possible,  above  the  level  of  playground  and  street  dust. 

7.  Fire-protection  equipment  should  receive  immediate 
attention.  Every  building  should  be  provided  with  a  good 
fire  hose  for  each  floor  and  a  sufficient  number  of  hand  ex- 
tinguishers. Water  should  be  instantly  obtainable  by  turn- 
ing on  the  tap  at  the  base  of  each  hose.  All  buildings  should 
be  equipped  with  metal  fire  escapes.  Electric  fire  alarms, 
and  connections  with  the  city  fire  department,  should  be  in- 
stalled. None  of  the  buildings  is  fireproof.  The  older  build- 
ings are  especially  in  need  of  better  protection.  The  fire 
drills  are  excellent  and  deserve  commendation. 

8.  Brooms,  with  sweeping  compound,  prevail  as  the 
method  of  cleaning.  It  would  be  desirable  to  have  vacuum 
systems,  and  provision  for  such  systems  should  be  made  in 
future  building  plans. 

9.  Better  electric  equipment  is  urged,  including  artifi- 
cial lighting,  clocks,  gongs,  and  telephones.  Every  school 
should  have  telephone  connection  with  the  office  of  the 
superintendent. 

10.  The  number  of  drinking  fountains  should  be  in- 
creased and  they  should  be  distributed  according  to  the 
number  of  pupils  using  them.  Playground  fountains  are 
especially  needed. 

11.  No  baths  are  provided  in  the  elementary  schools.  It 
is  recommended  that  showers  be  installed  wherever  prac- 
ticable. 


2  20  The  Boise  Survey 

12.  The  toilets,  except  in  the  newer  buildings,  are  very 
unsatisfactory.  It  is  recommended  that  all  toilet  rooms 
be  provided  with  more  light,  better  ventilation,  and  with 
non-absorbent  floors  and  walls.  The  range  system  should 
be  replaced  by  individual  flushing  systems.  While  the  range 
system  remains,  it  should  be  operative  throughout  the  day. 
Seats  should  be  better  graded  as  to  height.  A  separate 
roll  of  toilet  paper  should  be  provided  for  each  seat.  The 
dungeon-toilet  at  the  Whittier  School  should  be  condemned. 

13.  Blackboards  of  plaster  or  composition  should  be 
replaced  by  slate  or  ground  glass.  The  height  of  black- 
boards should  be  governed  by  standard  requirements. 

14.  Approximately  two  thirds  of  the  schoolrooms  have 
the  standard  ratio  (1:5)  of  window  space  to  floor  area.  This 
is  satisfactory,  where  it  comes  exclusively  from  the  pupiPs 
left,  and  is  unobstructed,  as  in  about  one  half  of  the  rooms. 
Many  classrooms  are  not  only  deficient  in  window  area,  but 
the  placing  of  the  windows  renders  correct  lighting  impos- 
sible. It  is  recommended  that  if  the  older  buildings  are  to 
be  retained,  immediate  steps  be  taken  to  reconstruct  them 
so  that  all  classrooms  will  have  unilateral  and  sufficient 
lighting.  It  is  further  recommended  that  the  present  opaque 
shades  be  replaced  by  adjustable,  translucent  shades  and 
that  teachers  be  instructed  as  to  their  proper  use. 

15.  The  preponderance  of  stationary,  non-adjustable 
seats  and  desks  makes  it  impossible  to  seat  children  accord- 
ing to  their  var3dng  sizes.  At  least  one  third  of  the  seats 
and  desks  in  each  room  should  be  adjustable,  and  their  ad- 
justment should  be  supervised  by  the  school  principal. 

16.  Commendable  use  of  bulletin  boards  was  observed 
in  several  schools.  The  continuance  and  extension  of  this 
practice  is  recommended. 

17.  The  lack  of  special  rooms  prevents  the  development 
of  newer  and  more  efficient  educational  methods.  It  is 
recommended  that  future  buildings  be  equipped  with  play- 
rooms, auditoriums,  libraries,  gymnasiums,  lunch  rooms,  and 
modern  rooms  for  school  officials,  including  the  school  nurse. 


Buildings  and  Grounds  221 

18.  It  is  evident  that  buildings  scoring  relatively  low  on 
the  standard  scale  can  be  brought  much  nearer  the  standard 
by  improvements  which  require  little  or  no  structural 
changes.  Among  these  are  the  equipment  of  playgrounds, 
the  improvement  of  basements  and  ventilation  systems, 
better  equipment  for  fire  protection,  increase  in  number  and 
better  distribution  of  drinking  fountains,  improvement  of 
toilets,  replacement  of  blackboards,  and  more  extensive  use 
of  adjustable  seats  and  desks.  The  improvements  which 
require  some  structural  change,  including  the  introduction 
of  baths,  the  reconstruction  of  toilet  rooms  and  the  securing 
of  unilateral  lighting,  are,  however,  of  no  less  importance. 
The  cost  of  these  improvements  should  not  be  looked  upon 
as  innovation  expense,  but  the  change  should  be  viewed  as 
necessities  which  have  not  received  timely  attention  in  the 
development  of  the  school  system.  The  present  lack  of 
many  essentials  is  suggestive  evidence  of  the  lesser  cost  of 
a  uniform  educational  growth  in  which  equipment  keeps  pace 
with  other  developments. 

In  the  preparation  of  this  chapter  the  writer  has  been  fully 
conscious  of  the  danger  that  such  a  section,  which  must  of 
necessity  be  critical,  may  be  misinterpreted.  He  has  been 
reluctant  to  call  attention  to  some  of  the  long-standing  de- 
fects in  the  physical  equipment,  but  on  the  other  hand  he 
has  been  guided  by  the  obligation  to  make  judgments  on  the 
basis  of  generally  accepted  standards.  Whatever  local 
reasons  may  exist  for  present  conditions,  the  efficiency  of 
the  plant  can  be  fairly  determined  only  by  plain  compari- 
sons with  these  standards.  Fortunately  the  improvement 
of  the  school  plant  along  standard  lines  can  be  brought 
about  more  quickly,  more  easily,  and  at  less  expense  than 
can  educational  developments  in  other  directions.  It  is 
believed  that  the  adoption  of  the  changes  suggested  will  go 
far  toward  giving  Boise  a  modern  school  system  and  one 
that  will  be  a  credit  to  her  geographical  and  economic  im- 
portance. 


222  The  Boise  Survey 

The  writer  wishes  to  acknowledge  his  indebtedness  to  the 
recent  publications  of  Dr.  Fletcher  B.  Dresslar,  of  the 
United  States  Bureau  of  Education;  Dr.  George  D.  Strayer, 
of  Columbia  University;  Dr.  Lewis  M.  Terman,  of  Stanford 
University;  and  Dr.  Leonard  P.  Ayres,  of  the  Russell  Sage 
Foundation. 


CHAPTER  X 

THE   HIGH   SCHOOL 

{Proctor) 

ARTICULATION  BETWEEN  THE  ELEMENTARY 
GRADES   AND   THE   HIGH   SCHOOL 

THERE  is  evidence  to  show  that  the  administrative  offi- 
cers of  the  Boise  public  schools  are  making  a  genuine 
effort  to  bridge  the  gap  between  the  elementary  grades  and 
the  high  school.  Among  the  plans  that  have  been  adopted 
with  this  end  in  view  are  the  following:  (a)  Departmentali- 
zation of  the  7th  and  8th  grades;  {b)  Beginning  of  Algebra 
and  General  Science  in  the  8th  grade.  Departmentalization 
accustoms  the  grade  pupils  to  different  teachers  for  different 
subjects  and  trains  them  to  more  independent  study 
meliiods.  The  beginning  of  Algebra  and  General  Science  in 
the  8th  grade  gives  those  who  are  planning  to  go  to  college 
an  opportunity  for  a  more  varied  course  in  the  high  school 
and  tends  to  influence  others  to  continue  their  education 
beyond  the  elementary  grades. 

Table  41  gives  the  distribution  of  the  graduates  of  the 
last  seven  classes  graduated  from  the  Boise  8th  grade  and 
includes  the  January  and  June  groups  for  the  years  19 16, 
191 7,  and  1918,  as  well  as  the  January  group  for  1919,  com- 
prising a  total  of  758  pupils.  There  are  668  of  the  Boise 
8th  grade  graduates  who  have  entered  the  Boise  high  school, 
and  4  who  have  entered  other  high  schools  during  the  3^ 
years  covered  by  the  table.  In  all,  672,  or  88.65  per  cent, 
of  the  8th  grade  graduates  went  on  to  high  school.  This  is 
a  surprisingly  good  showing  when  compared  with  the  ag- 
gregate grade  distribution  in  386  American  cities.^    Ayres 

1  Ayres,  L.  P.,  The  Laggards  in  Our  Schools,  page  13,  Diagram  II. 

223 


224 


The  Boise  Survey 


TABLE  41 


Giving  the  Distribution  of  the  8th-Grade  Graduates  oi 
Schools,  Comprising  the  January  and  June  Classes  for 

THE  Boise 
3J  years 

Years  and  Months 

What  8th-Grade 
Graduates  Did 

1916 
Jan.  June 

1917 
Jan.  June 

1918 
Jan.  June 

1919 
Jan. 

Total 

Per  cent 

Went  to  Boise  H.S.  . 
Went  to  Other  H.  S.  . 

97     102 
I 

90     109 

1  I 

2  6 

80     106 
I 

5       12 
I         I 

2 

84 

I 

668 
4 

37 
4 

5 
2 

19 
4 
2 

13 

88.12 
0.53  88.65 

3        9 

I 

Went  to  Work   .    .    . 
Stayed  at  Home    .    . 
Went  to  Business  Col- 
lege   

4.90 
O.S3 

0  66 

I 

2 
I 

Entered  U.  S.  Navy  . 
Moved  Away     .   .    . 

Married 

Poor  Health   .... 

I 

6 

I         I 

0  26 

3 
I 

8 
I 

1 

2 

I 

2.50 
O.S3 
0  26 

No  Report 

2        7 

2         I 

I 

1. 71 

Totals 

104     128 

97     122 

87     132 

88 

758 

100.00 

found  that  on  the  basis  of  1000  children  who  entered  the 
first  grade  there  would  be  found  in  the  8th  grade  263  chil- 
dren and  in  the  ist  year  high  school  189,  or  71.4  per  cent 
of  that  number.  Boise^s  record  for  the  past  3^  years  is 
17.25  per  cent  higher  than  for  the  386  cities  considered  by 
Ayres.  Less  than  5  per  cent  of  the  Boise  8th  grade  gradu- 
ates gave  up  further  effort  to  get  an  education  and  went  to 
work.    These  facts  are  shown  graphically  in  Figure  35. 

Table  42  gives  the  total  enrollment,  the  average  enroll- 
ment, and  the  per  cent  of  the  total  enrollment  represented 
by  the  average  number  in  the  high  school  for  the  ten-year 
period  1909-10  to  191 8-1 9.  When  we  take  an  average  of 
the  per  cents  that  the  high  school  enrollment  is  of  the  total 
enrollment  for  the  five  school  years  1912-13  to   191 6- 17 


The  High  School 


225 


inclusive,  the  result  is  an  average  of  25.7  per  cent;  for  the 
two  school  years  191 7-18  and  191 8-19  (the  years  when 
attendance  in  high  school  was  most  affected  by  fiie  war  and 
the  influenza),  the  result  is  an  average  of  24.1  per  cent.  The 
average  of  average  per  cents  for  the  ten-year  period  is  23.5 
per  cent.  Referring  again  to  Ayres'  statistics  for  the  386 
American  cities,  we  find  that  the  total  high  school  attendance 
is  only  8.3  per  cent  of  the  total  enrollment,  and  in  the  state 
of  California  the  total  average  daily  attendance  in  the  high 


Fig.  35.    Showing  What  Became  of  the  8th-GRADE  Graduates  from  the 
Boise  Schools  during  a  Period  of  Three  and  One  Half  Years 


226 


The  Boise  Survey 


TABLE  42 

Showing  Total  Enrollment  and  Average  Enrollment  op  the  Boise 
Elementary  and  High  Schools,  and  also  the  Per  Cent  of  Total 
Average  Enrollment  Made  up  of  High  School  Pupils  for  a  Period 
OF  lo  Years 


Total  Gross  Enrollment 

Total  Average  Enrollment 

Per  Cent 
High 

School 
Is  of  Total 

Average 
Enrollment 

Year 

High 

Elemen- 
tary 

Total 

ICgh 

Elemen- 
tary 

Total 

1909- 
1910 

62s 

2506 

3131 

S19 

1913 

2432 

21.3 

1910- 
1911 

617 

3380 

3997 

517 

2548 

3065 

16.8 

19H- 
1912 

778 

3441 

4219 

667 

2661 

3328 

20.0 

1912- 
1913 

889 

3364 

4253 

719 

2690 

3409 

21. 1 

1913- 
1914 

989 

3257 

4246 

837 

2359 

3196 

26.1 

1914- 
191S 

1056 

3156 

4212 

835 

2482 

3317 

251 

1915- 
1916 
1916- 
1917 

1050 
1071 

3024 
3044 

4074 
4115 

837 
806 

2370 
2326 

3207 
3132 

26.4 
257 

191 7- 
1918 
1918- 
1919 

lOII 

105 1 

3188 
3330 

4199 
4381 

786 
760 1 

2435 
2433* 

3221 
3193 

24.4 
23.8 

>  The  average  enroHment  for  1918-19  is  taken  for  the  six  months  ending  May  9,  1919.    It  is 
considerably  below  normal  on  account  of  the  influenza  epidemic. 

schools  is  only  15.6  per  cent  of  the  total  average  daily  at- 
tendance in  all  the  schools,  elementary  and  high  school 
combined. 

Table  43  shows  how  Boise  compares  with  ten  other  cities 
in  respect  to  the  per  cent  of  high  school  attendance  in  its 
relation  to  total  attendance.  Boise  ranks  i,  with  23.8  per 
cent;  Reno,  Nevada,  occupies  the  median  place,  with  18.1 


The  High  School 


227 


TABLE  43 

Showing  the  Relative  Standing  of  Eleven  Cities  in  the  Percentage  of 
High  School  Pupils  in  Total  Average  Enrollment  of  Elementary 
AND  High  School  Pupils 


Name  of  City 


BOISE,  IDAHO . 

Walla  WaUa,  Wash. 
Bellingham,  Wash. 
Everett,  Wash.  .   . 
Fargo,  N.  Dak. .   . 
Reno,  Nevada  (Med.) 
Sioux  Falls,  S.  Dak. 
Albuquerque,  N.  M. 
Trinidad,  Colo.  .   .   , 
Cheyenne,  Wyo.    .    . 
Great  Falls,  Mont.    . 


Average  Enrollment 


Elemen- 
tary 


2433 

2700 
3276 
3569 
2577 
1800 
3528 
2500 
2325 
1425 
4677 


High 
School 


760 

800 
888 
841 
610 
400 

735 
500 

445 

275 
785 


Total 


3193 

3500 
4164 
4410 

3187 
2200 
4263 
3000 
2770 
1700 
5462 


Per  Cent 

High 

School 

Is  of  Total 

Enrollment 


23.8 

22.8 
21.3 
19. 1 
19. 1 
18. 1 
17.2 
16.6 
16. 1 
16. 1 
14-3 


per  cent;  and  Great  Falls,  Montana,  ranks  lowest,  with 
14.3  per  cent.  Boise's  very  favorable  position  among  these 
cities  is  shown  to  good  effect  in  Figure  36. 

From  Tables  41,  42,  and  43,  it  is  apparent  that  the  Boise 
high  school  is  attracting  and  holding  an  unusually  large  per 
cent  of  the  total  school  population.  The  conclusion  is  there- 
fore justified  that  the  articulation  between  the  elementary 
schools  and  the  high  school  is  very  satisfactory. 

A  still  better  situation  with  respect  to  articulation  would 
be  brought  about  by  the  bringing  together  of  all  the  7th, 
8th,  and  9th  grades  of  the  city  into  one  building,  under  a  dis- 
tinctively "Intermediate  School"  or  "Junior  High  School" 
organization.  This  would  make  possible  the  introduction  of 
adequate  "prevocational"  work,  as  well  as  the  beginning  of 
modern  languages,  from  one  to  two  years  earlier  in  the 


228 


The  Boise  Survey 


Bo/se 

W/fLL/7  WALL  a,  WASH. 
BeLLimHAM,  WASH, 
FAf^eO,  N.DfffC 
RENO,  NEV.  rfftdio^ 
SIOUX  FALLS,  S,  Dm, 
/iLBUQUFRqUF,n.M£X. 
TR/N/OAD,  COLa 
CH£Y£NHF,WYO. 
GREAT  FALL^^  MONT. 

*>£RC£NT     < 

■           III 

t 

1   1   1 

> 

mmm 

■^■i^ 

ta^Hi* 

HHHT 

»■ 

m^^Hf 

^^^^^  I     1 

1 

ta^H  ^ 

^^^ 

\r  io  do 

^ 

^     eb  -  Vq.    «k>    '^    id 

Fig.  36.    Showing  Relation  of  Enrollment  in  High  Schools  to  Total 
School  Enrollment  in  10  Western  Cities 

pupil's  course  of  study.  There  may  be  reasons  why  this 
separate  housing  of  the  "Intermediate  School"  cannot  be 
put  into  execution  at  the  present  time,  but  it  is  an  item  that 
should  be  included  in  the  plan  for  future  development  of  the 
Boise  school  system,  perhaps  to  be  worked  out  with  the 
completion  of  the  building  now  in  process  of  erection. 


BUILDING  AND  EQUIPMENT 

A  full  discussion  of  the  high  school  building  and  its 
equipment  will  be  found  in  the  chapter  on  "Building  and 
Equipment,"  but  there  are  two  points  in  particular  to  which 
attention  can  be  called  in  this  chapter.  The  laboratory  for 
elementary  agriculture  is  poorly  equipped  and  entirely  too 
small  to  accommodate  the  pupils  registered  in  those  courses. 
The  gymnasium,  both  as  to  floor  space  and  apparatus,  is  not 
up  to  the  standard  for  a  high  school  of  1000  pupils.  It  may 
be  necessary  to  wait  for  adequate  gymnasium  facilities  until 
the  central  portion  connecting  the  two  new  wings  of  the 
present  building  is  erected,  but  proper  provision  should  be 
made  as  soon  as  jXDSsible  for  laboratory  and  recitation  rooms 
for  the  elementary  courses  in  agriculture. 


The  High  School  229 

THE  HIGH   SCHOOL  FACULTY 

Details  as  to  training,  tenure,  salaries,  etc.,  of  the  high 
school  teachers  have  been  discussed  in  the  foregoing  chap- 
ter on  "Teaching  Staff."  As  to  teaching  technique  and 
methods,  it  is  not  possible  to  give  in  this  report  a  detailed 
account  covering  each  individual  instructor.  The  classrooms 
of  most  of  the  members  of  the  high  school  teaching  staff 
were  visited  by  members  of  the  survey  commission.  All 
grades  of  teaching  ability  were  found,  but  taken  as  a  whole 
the  teaching  staff  of  the  Boise  high  school  was  found  to  be 
well  up  to  the  standards  set  for  high  schools  of  from  800  to 
1200  pupils.  Unfortunately  for  the  high  school,  four  of  the 
very  best  teachers  found  by  the  surveyors  will  not  be  with 
the  school  another  year.  Two  were  planning  graduate  work 
at  universities,  and  two  were  taken  from  the  high  school  by 
business  corporations  which  appreciated  their  ability  suffi- 
ciently to  pay  them  adequate  salaries  for  their  services.  The 
loss  of  these  four  experienced  teachers  cannot  help  lowering 
the  efficiency  and  morale  of  the  high  school  for  some  time  to 
come.^  The  regrettable  part  of  the  matter  is  that  two  of 
them  could  have  been  retained  if  they  had  been  assured  of 
reasonable  increases  in  salary  early  in  the  spring. 

CURRICULUM   FEATURES 

In  the  organization  and  administration  of  its  curriculum 
the  Boise  high  school  enjoys  the  advantage  of  being  free 
from  outside  dictation  or  domination.  The  fact  that  the 
district  is  absolutely  independent  makes  it  possible  for 
the  Board  of  Directors  to  authorize  any  course  of  study  that 
may  be  submitted  by  its  administrative  officers,  without 
having  to  take  into  account  state  or  county  educational  re- 
quirements. This  means  that  if  the  curriculum  adopted  does 
not  meet  the  needs  of  Boise  and  vicinity,  the  responsibility 
rests  upon  the  board  and  its  educational  advisers.  It  also 
means  that  any  adjustments  necessary  to  be  made  in  order 

1  See  Figure  8,  with  accompanying  comments  on  this  subject. 


230  The  Boise  Survey 

to  bring  the  courses  of  study  up  to  the  best  standards  for 
secondary  education  in  a  progressive  American  community 
can  be  made  by  authority  of  the  Board  of  Education  di- 
rectly, without  awaiting  the  approval  of  outside  agencies. 
It  will  be  the  purpose  of  the  following  discussion  of  the 
curriculum  of  the  Boise  high  school  to  indicate  to  what 
extent  the  curriculum  as  at  present  constituted  meets  the 
needs  of  Boise  and  conforms  to  accepted  standards  of  cur- 
riculum making  for  secondary  schools  in  American  cities, 
as  well  as  to  make  constructive  suggestions  for  the  improve- 
ment of  any  defects  that  may  be  apparent. 

J.     The  Working  Out  of  the  Curriculum 

The  "Statement  of  Courses"  which  has  recently  been 
reconmiended  to  the  board  for  publication  was  worked  out 
by  the  teaching  staff  of  the  high  school  as  a  cooperative 
enterprise.  All  the  instructors  in  a  given  department  were 
constituted  members  of  a  committee  to  agree  upon  the  type 
of  the  courses  that  should  be  offered  and  to  formulate  a 
statement  of  the  aims,  content,  and  method  of  presenting 
the  courses.  The  high  school  principal  was  an  ex-officio 
member  of  each  committee.  Whenever  a  committee  had 
arrived  at  an  agreement,  report  was  made  to  the  entire 
teaching  staff  at  the  regular  teachers*  meetings.  Thus,  not 
only  did  each  departmental  group  face  directly  the  problem 
involved  in  curriculum  building,  but  all  groups  were  required 
to  square  their  final  reports  with  the  general  aim  and  pur- 
pose of  the  course  of  study  as  a  whole. 

The  "Statement  of  Courses"  evolved  under  the  plan  just 
described  is  a  social  product.  Every  teacher  who  had  a 
part  in  working  out  the  details  was  educated  into  a  new 
sense  of  responsibility  for  the  successful  operation  of  the 
courses  of  study  as  therein  outlined.  The  high  school  prin- 
cipal might  have  worked  out  the  course  of  study  alone,  sub- 
mitting it  in  its  finished  form  for  the  approval  of  the  teach- 
ing staff.    In  such  an  event  the  resulting  course  of  study 


The  High  School  231 

might  more  nearly  have  approximated  the  ideal,  but  there 
would  have  been  a  distinct  loss  to  the  morale  and  teaching 
efficiency  of  the  high  school  instructors.  The  Boise  high 
school  plan  of  curriculum  making  deserves,  therefore,  com- 
mendation as  being  in  line  with  the  best  tenets  in  school 
administration. 

2,    Curriculum  Content 

As  stated  in  Chapter  XI,  on  "Educational  and  Vocational 
Guidance,"  the  aim  of  the  courses  of  study  in  intermediate 
and  high  schools  should  be  to  give  preparation  (a)  for 
citizenship  in  a  democracy;  (6)  for  vocation  or  ability  to 
make  a  worthy  contribution  to  the  world's  work;  (c)  for 
avocation,  or  the  socially  profitable  employment  of  leisure 
time. 

The  courses  offered  in  the  Boise  high  school  that  come 
under  "a"  (citizenship)  are  those  in  History  and  General 
Social  Science.  Judging  from  the  work  of  classes  which 
were  visited,  it  is  evident  that  full  advantage  of  the  situation 
of  Boise  as  capital  of  the  state  and  county  seat  of  Ada 
County  is  not  taken  by  the  teachers.  There  is  need  for  a 
great  deal  more  "laboratory"  work  in  a  city  which  is  itself 
the  best  possible  type  of  citizenship  laboratory. 

Another  source  of  citizenship  training  which  is  not  being 
adequately  cultivated  is  to  be  found  in  connection  with  the 
various  student  activities.  The  high  school,  for  the  time 
being,  is  the  pupiFs  world,  in  which  he  is  in  the  truest  sense 
a  citizen.  Every  phase  of  the  school  life,  whether  in  the 
classroom  or  in  extra-curricula  activities,  should  be  so  or- 
ganized as  to  develop  high  ideals  of  social  and  civic  conduct, 
and  also  to  give  opportunity  for  participation  in  social  and 
political  situations  requiring  the  application  of  principles 
learned  in  the  classroom.  The  History  courses  are  sup- 
posed to  furnish  a  background  for  the  understanding  of 
present-day  problems.  As  at  present  outlined  too  much 
time  is  given  to  Ancient  and  Mediaeval  History,  and  no  place 
is  provided  for  elementary  Economics.    The  introduction  of 


232  The  Boise  Survey 

two  courses  in  Economics,  even  at  the  expense  of  all  the  time 
now  given  to  Ancient  and  Mediaeval  History,  would  give  a 
better-balanced  course  in  the  Social  Sciences. 

The  courses  offered  that  would  naturally  come  under  "b" 
(vocational)  are:  Agriculture,  Manual  Training,  Mechani- 
cal Drawing,  Home  Economics,  and  the  Commercial  sub- 
jects. Of  these  the  course  in  Agriculture  is  distinctly 
vocational,  coming  under  the  Smith-Hughes  Act.  The  high 
school  owns  a  40-acre  farm,  with  complete  equipment  of 
buildings,  stock,  and  farm  machinery.  The  students  are 
required  to  devote  one  half  their  time  to  class  work  and  one 
half  to  experimental  work  on  the  school  farm.  During  the 
summer  vacations  the  work  of  the  school  farm  is  carried  on 
by  students  who  are  paid  at  the  current  wages  for  their 
services.  The  farm  director  and  teacher  of  Agriculture  has 
had  excellent  training,  both  in  practical  farming  and  scien- 
tific agriculture,  and  he  is  carrying  on  lines  of  experimenta- 
tion that  will  be  of  greatest  service  to  the  farmers  in  the 
region  around  Boise. 

There  appears  to  be  commendable  coordination  between 
the  courses  in  Agriculture,  Manual  Training,  and  Mechani- 
cal Drawing.  Plans  for  new  buildings  needed  on  the  farm 
are  drawn  by  the  Mechanical  Drawing  department,  and 
much  of  the  work  is  performed  and  furniture  made  by  the 
Manual  Training  department.  Plans  for  a  machine  shop 
to  house  the  work  in  auto-mechanics  were  being  perfected 
by  the  advanced  class  in  mechanical  and  architectural  draw- 
ing when  the  members  of  the  survey  staff  inspected  this 
phase  of  the  work.  The  Home  Economics  department  did 
all  of  the  purchasing  and  prepared  all  the  food  for  the  high 
school  cafeteria,  in  addition  to  offering  the  customary 
courses.  Wholesome,  well-prepared  food  was  thus  supplied 
to  the  high  school  pupils  at  a  very  low  cost.  The  head  of 
this  department  made  such  a  success  of  her  work  that  a 
Boise  department  store  secured  her  services  at  a  good  salary 
to  manage  the  lunchroom  of  its  Women^s  Department. 

The  work  of  the  Commercial  department  seemed  to  be 


The  High  School  233 

carried  on  in  an  efficient  way  so  far  as  the  teaching  of  the 
separate  subjects  themselves  was  concerned,  but  there  was 
not  the  coordination  between  the  work  of  this  department 
and  other  departments  that  there  should  be.  Some  use  of 
the  students  in  typing  and  shorthand  was  made  by  the 
superintendent  of  schools  and  the  high  school  principal;  but 
much  more  could  be  done  to  give  all  the  pupils  in  the  Com- 
mercial department  experience  in  handling  real  accounts, 
keeping  up  office  files,  etc.,  if  the  bookkeeping  of  the  Agri- 
cultural and  Home  Economics  departments  and  that  of 
certain  student  enterprises  could  be  turned  over  to  them 
under  the  supervision  of  the  head  of  the  department. 

The  fact  tiiat  63,  or  more  than  one  half,  of  the  girls  who 
are  planning  to  be  stenographers  intend  to  complete  their 
training  in  a  business  college  is  evidence  that  the  Com- 
mercial department  is  not  furnishing  them  with  a  suffi- 
ciently practical  type  of  experience  to  meet  the  demands  of 
Boise  business  men.  The  work  in  auto-mechanics  was  well 
organized  and  carried  on  as  efficiently  as  could  be  expected 
in  the  building  used.  The  floor  space  was  adequate,  but  the 
lighting  and  ventilation  were  wretched.  Seeing  that  this  is 
the  "automobile  age,"  no  more  acceptable  service  to  the 
community  can  be  performed  than  that  undertaken  in  the 
day  and  evening  auto-mechanics  classes  of  the  Boise  high 
school.  The  Board  of  Education  can  well  afford  to  furnish 
all  necessary  buildings  and  equipment. 

The  subjects  which  may  be  classified  under  "c"  (avoca- 
tion) are:  Art,  Expression,  Music,  and  the  Foreign  Lan- 
guages. It  is  true  that  for  particularly  gifted  persons  any 
one  of  the  avocational  subjects  may  become  vocational.  For 
the  great  majority  of  high  school  pupils  their  chief  value  lies 
in  the  fact  that  they  contribute  to  the  enlargement  of  one's 
capacity  for  enjo5niient  of  leisure  time.  There  should  be 
opportunity  for  the  pupils  highly  endowed  along  the  lines 
of  Art,  Expression,  or  Music  to  receive  sufficiently  advanced 
courses  to  enable  them  to  go  on  from  high  school  to  special 
schools  for  the  completion  of  their  training,  but  there  is 


234  T^he  Boise  Survey 

greater  need  that  all  pupils  who  enter  a  high  school  shall 
receive  a  type  of  training  that  will  develop  their  ability  to 
appreciate  and  enjoy  the  masterpieces  of  Art,  Literature, 
and  Music. 

Both  of  these  aims  can  be  accomplished  in  the  Boise  high 
school.  At  present  the  tendency  seems  to  be  to  neglect  the 
aim  which  would  seek  to  cultivate  in  every  pupil  a  spirit  of 
amateur  interest  in  and  appreciation  of  the  world's  highest 
achievements  in  the  line  of  artistic  endeavor. 

In  addition  to  the  subjects  which  may  be  said  to  bear  di- 
rectly upon  the  three  principal  aims  of  secondary  education, 
there  are  those  of  English,  Mathematics,  and  Science,  which 
may  be  said  to  be  basic  in  character.  Eight  courses  in  Eng- 
lish, eight  courses  in  Mathematics,  and  eight  courses  in 
Natural  Science  are  offered,  making  it  possible  for  a  pupil 
to  earn  four  units  of  credit  in  any  one  of  these  departments. 
Aims,  content  of  courses,  and  methods  of  presentation  in 
these  three  departments  were  found  to  be  very  satisfactory. 

J.    Administration  of  the  Curriculum 

Selection  of  courses  by  pupils  in  the  Boise  high  school  has, 
for  the  past  few  years,  been  entirely  elective.  Limited  only 
by  the  necessity  of  taking  certain  courses  in  sequence,  an/ 
the  meeting  of  prerequisite  requirements  before  other  courses 
could  be  had,  pupils  were  free  to  make  out  their  own  cur- 
ricula. A  new  policy  of  requiring  three  majors  of  three  units 
each,  one  of  which  shall  be  English,  was  to  be  inaugurated 
during  the  school  year  1919-20. 

The  results  of  Uie  system  of  free  election  on  the  choice  of 
subjects  by  the  pupils  during  the  five  semesters  beginning 
September,  191 7,  is  shown  in  Table  44.  The  percentages  of 
pupils  taking  the  subjects,  arranged  according  to  the  di- 
visions suggested  in  the  preceding  section,  are  as  follows: 
Basic  group:  English,  20.8  per  cent;  Mathematics,  ii.o 
per  cent;  Science,  6.6  per  cent;  total  basic  group,  38.4  per 
cent.    Avocational  group:  Art,  2.5  per  cent;  Expression,  3.6 


The  High  School 


235 


TABLE  44 

Showing  Number  of  Pupils  Taking  Various  Subjects  for  Five  Semesters 
AND  THE  Per  Cent  That  the  Number  Taking  Each  Subject  Is  of  the 
Total  Number  of  Elections 


Subjects 


1917 


ist 
Sem. 


2d 
Sem. 


1918 


ist 
Sem. 


2d 

Sem. 


1919 


ist 
Sem. 


Total  of 
5  Sem'rs 


Per  Cent  that 

Total  for 

Each  Subject 

Is  of  Grand 

Total 


English  .... 
Math,  ist  yr.  . 
Math.  2d  yr.  .  . 
Gen.  Science  .  . 
Bot.  and  Zool.  . 
Phys.  and  Chem. 


Latin  .  .  . 
German  .  . 
Fr.  and  Span. 
Art  ...  . 
Expression  . 
Music  .    .    . 


Agriculture. 
Man.  Train. 
Mech.  Dr.  . 
Home.  Econ. 
Typing  .  . 
Shorthand  . 
Bk.  and  Acct. 


Gen.  Soc.  Sci. 
History   .    . 


Grand  Total 


685 

166 

210 

21 

139 

89 

225 

109 

102 

6S 

130 

25 

114 

105 

49 

258 

74 

63 

228 

o 
416 


650 

128 

204 

o 

138 

74 
286 
150 
100 

56 
120 

38 

93 

50 

45 

239 

62 

54 
186 

30 
342 


627 

153 

173 

16 

96 

86 

198 

72 

152 

76 

126 

39 

74 

58 

48 

246 

133 

127 

76 

314 


588 

no 

179 

o 

105 
71 

208 

38 

230 
115 

"3 

25 

102 

65 
62 
260 
141 
55 
149 
108 
283 


721 
187 
233 

o 
117 
133 
199 

o 

346 

78 

100 

6 

62 

69 

93 

243 

192 

86 

183 

135 

255 


3271 
744 
999 
31 
595 
453 

1116 
369 
930 
390 
589 
133 
445 
347 
297 

1246 
602 
311 
873 

349 
1710 


15,806 


20.8 
4.7 

0.2* 

3.7 

2.7     38.4 


7.0 
2.4 
6.0 

2.5 
3.6 
0.8 


22.3 


2.8 
2.2 
1.9 
8.0 
3-8 
2.0 
5-5 


26.2 


2-3 
10.8 


13.1 


lOO.O 


1  General  Science  is  now  taught  entirely  in  the  intermediate  schooL 

per  cent;  Music,  0.8  per  cent;  Foreign  Languages,  15.4  per 
cent;  total  avocational  group,  22.3.  Vocational  group:  Agri- 
culture, 2.8  per  cent;  Manual  Training,  2.2  per  cent;  Me- 
chanical Drawing,  1.9  per  cent;  Home  Economics,  8.0  per 
cent;  Commercial  subjects,  11.3  per  cent;  Total  vocational 


236  The  Boise  Survey 

group,  26.2  per  cent.  Citizenship  group:  General  Social 
Science,  2.3  per  cent;  History,  10.8  per  cent;  total  citizen- 
ship group,  1 3. 1  per  cent. 

The  plan  of  major  groups  should  be  so  directed  as  to 
bring  about  an  equalization  of  the  percentages  of  pupils 
found  taking  courses  in  the  four  main  divisions.  Many  who 
are  now  taking  Mathematics  should  be  encouraged  to  take 
courses  in  Science  instead.  In  the  Avocational  group,  for- 
eign languages  claim  a  disproportionate  percentage  of  the 
pupils.  It  is  doubtful  whether  one  in  ten  of  those  who  take 
a  foreign  language  in  our  high  schools  ever  acquires  a  suffi- 
cient mastery  of  it  to  serve  either  as  a  vocational  asset  or  as 
a  means  of  enjoying  the  literature  for  which  that  language 
is  the  medium  of  expression.  Considering  the  doubtful  value 
of  foreign  language  study  for  the  great  majority  of  high 
school  pupils  and  the  immediate  returns  that  may  be  had 
through  the  proper  development  of  various  lines  of  artistic 
expression  and  appreciation,  a  consistent  effort  should  be 
made  to  attract  more  pupils  to  the  Art,  Music,  and  Expres- 
sion courses. 

In  the  Vocational  group  there  is  a  great  contrast  between 
the  percentage  of  pupils  who  have  elected  the  Commercial 
subjects  and  those  who  have  elected  Agriculture.  Four 
times  as  many  have  taken  up  Commercial  work  as  have  been 
enrolled  in  Agriculture,  notwithstanding  the  fact  that  the 
Boise  high  school  has  one  of  the  very  best  courses  in  Agri- 
culture offered  by  any  high  school  in  the  West.  As  shown 
in  the  chapter  on  "Educational  and  Vocational  Guidance," 
Agriculture  will  absorb  32.0  per  cent  of  the  gainful  workers, 
while  clerical  occupations  will  demand  the  services  of  only 
4.6  per  cent.  The  world  needs  scientifically  trained  farmers. 
The  Boise  high  school  has  the  equipment  for  training  many 
more  than  are  now  taking  the  courses.  The  conclusion  is 
obvious.  Means  should  be  devised  for  directing  more  boys 
and  girls  into  this  important  field. 

In  connection  with  the  Citizenship  courses  it  is  desirable 
that  more  attention  should  be  paid  to  the  study  of  Elemen- 


The  High  School  237 

tary  Economics.  This  could  be  done  by  telescoping  certain 
History  courses  and  making  more  room  for  the  study  of 
present-day  social  and  political  problems. 

While  the  subject  of  Physical  education  is  not  mentioned 
in  the  "Statement  of  Courses"  and  statistics  regarding  it 
were  not  contained  in  the  data  from  which  Table  44  was 
compiled,  the  Boise  high  school  does  pay  attention  to  the 
physical  well-being  of  its  pupils.  Military  training  is  pro- 
vided under  the  direction  of  an  army  officer  detailed  by  the 
War  Department  for  that  service,  and  a  physical  director 
has  charge  of  the  gymnasium  classes  and  athletic  games. 
Physical  examinations  are  made  the  basis  of  work  in  cor- 
rective gymnastics,  and  a  system  of  simple  tests  has  been 
employed  to  discover  those  who  need  particular  attention. 
The  aim  of  the  director  is  to  secure  the  participation  of  every 
pupil  in  some  form  of  healthful  physical  activity,  but  he  is 
handicapped  by  the  lack  of  gymnasium  facilities. 

CERTAIN  PHASES   OF  THE  INTERNAL  ADMINISTRATION 

J.     The  High  School  Principal 

The  principal  of  the  Boise  high  school  is  given  practically 
a  free  hand  in  the  management  of  the  internal  affairs  of  the 
high  school.  This  is  as  it  should  be.  The  high  school  prin- 
cipal should  be  an  expert  in  secondary  education,  with  the 
training,  personality,  and  executive  ability  to  handle  the 
problems  of  his  office,  and  should  then  be  held  responsible 
for  results.  It  ought  to  be  possible  for  the  principal  so  to 
organize  his  time  as  to  give  a  certain  amount  of  attention 
to  the  supervision  of  instruction  and  to  the  coordinating  of 
the  work  of  the  different  departments  in  order  that  each  may 
make  its  proper  contribution  to  the  announced  aim  of  the 
whole  school.  The  members  of  the  survey  staff  are  of 
the  opinion  that  the  high  school  principal  is  too  much  bur- 
dened with  petty  details  of  office  accounting.  As  one  illus- 
tration his  office  was  keeping  all  the  accounts  of  the  cafe- 
teria, and  in  the  absence  of  competent  help  the  principal 


238  The  Boise  Survey 

himself  was  doing  the  bookkeeping  and  checking  over.  This 
work  should  be  turned  over  to  the  bookkeeping  section  of 
the  Commercial  department,  and  other  student  help  should 
be  furnished  to  care  for  registration  and  daily  routine  ac- 
counting under  the  management  of  a  competent  principal's 
secretary.  The  Board  of  Education  cannot  afford  to  pay 
a  principaPs  salary  for  a  bookkeeper's  services.  A  high 
school  with  from  800  to  1000  pupils  in  attendance  needs  all 
of  a  principal's  time  and  attention  and  ought  to  have  it  ap- 
plied where  it  will  result  in  the  establishment  and  main- 
tenance of  the  highest  standards  of  excellence  in  all  depart- 
ments of  high  school  work. 

2.    Scholarship  and  Grading 

In  giving  marks  indicative  of  scholastic  attainment,  the 
teachers  of  the  Boise  high  school  are  expected  to  plot  the 
curve  of  marks  given  by  them  at  the  end  of  each  six  weeks 
of  school  work  and  also  at  the  end  of  each  semester.  If 
there  is  any  great  variation  in  the  curve  representing  the 
marks  which  a  given  teacher  may  award  and  the  normal 
curve  of  distribution  for  the  entire  school,  the  teacher  must 
see  the  principal  and  justify  his  deviation  from  the  "norm." 
Table  45  shows  the  results  of  this  plan  on  the  distribu- 
tion of  marks  given  during  five  semesters,  covering  the 
school  years  191 7-18,  191 8-19,  and  the  first  semester,  191 9. 

A  glance  at  the  percentage  of  marks  of  each  degree  given 
for  each  subject  will  show  that  the  adoption  of  this  plan 
has  resulted  in  a  relatively  uniform  distribution  of  marks  in 
each  subject,  so  that  a  "1+/*  a  "i,"  a  "2,"  etc.,  means 
approximately  the  same  thing  in  each  department  and  to 
each  teacher.  The  relatively  small  per  cents  (3.4  and  3.3) 
found  in  the  "conditioned"  and  "failed"  columns  of  Table  45 
are  accounted  for  by  the  9.0  per  cent  in  the  "dropped" 
column.  That  1407  pupils  should  have  been  permitted  to 
drop  courses  during  2  J  years  indicates  that  proper  care  and 
guidance  were  not  exercised  in  admitting  pupils  to  courses. 


The  High  School 


239 


TABLE  45 

Showing  Percentage  of  Marks  of  Each  Degree  Given  in  All  Subjects 
IN  Boise  High  School  from  September,  191 7,  to  February,  1919 


Marks 

Subject 

Tot. 

1+ 

I 

2 

3 

4 

Cond. 

S 

Dropped 

English   .    . 

2>Z 

14.0 

28.6 

28.4 

II. 4 

1.9 

2.9 

9-5 

100. 0 

Soc.  Sci.  .    . 

1-3 

12.0 

23.0 

30.3 

12.0 

1.2 

7.0 

13- 2 

« 

History  .    . 

3-0 

150 

26.0 

29.7 

10.8 

SO 

2.0 

8.5 

« 

Math.  Adv. 

2.4 

16. 5 

27.1 

2SI 

137 

1.9 

55 

7.8 

<( 

Math.  I  yr. 

2.8 

16.4 

2S.8 

2S.2 

2.4 

1-4 

30 

12.0 

« 

Gen.  Sci.    . 

2.7 

27.0 

193 

32. s 

S-o 

0.0 

^ZS 

0.0 

« 

Phys.  and 

Ch.  .   .   . 

2.1 

17-3 

30.3 

29.2 

7.0 

4.8 

i-S 

7.8 

« 

Biology  .   . 

1.6 

12.3 

27.0 

32.0 

18.0 

1-5 

2.1 

S-5 

« 

Latin  .   .   . 

6-5 

131 

2SS 

26.8 

12.4 

4.1 

5-6 

6.0 

<( 

German  .   . 

6.0 

18.3 

27.4 

21.2 

7.4 

2.2 

4.2 

133 

« 

Fr.  and 

Span.  .   . 

6.5 

17.8 

2S.O 

21.3 

9.8 

3.1 

SS 

II. 0 

« 

Agriculture. 

2.3 

12.0 

34- S 

24.4 

12.0 

0.9 

5.0 

9.0 

« 

Man.Tr.    . 

2.0 

14.2 

24.0 

28.0 

4.0 

2.8 

50 

lO.O 

« 

Mech.  Dr.  . 

3-2 

14.0 

22.0 

2SS 

12.0 

4.8 

3.5 

ISO 

(( 

Home  Econ. 

2.7 

18.3 

28.7 

28.S 

II. 0 

2.3 

1.2 

7.3 

(( 

Typing    .   . 

50 

22.0 

18.S 

20.  s 

^ZS 

7.0 

zs 

10. 0 

(( 

Shorthand  . 

2.0 

17.0 

2SS 

26.5 

14.0 

30 

4.0 

8.0 

ii 

Bookkeep'g. 

I.  2 

132 

2S.O 

23.0 

9S 

13.0 

6.S 

8.6 

u 

Art  ...    . 

0.9 

ISO 

28.0 

36.0 

8.0 

S-i 

I.O 

6.0 

u 

Express'n   . 

I.I 

14.0 

ZZS 

30.0 

6.4 

6.S 

I.O 

7-5 

It 

Music     .   . 

Z-:^ 

ISO 

330 

30.3 

10.4 

3-3 

4.0 

0.7 

t( 

Per  Cent  of 

Total  .   . 

31 

iS-7 

27.0 

27.2 

"•3 

3-4 

ZZ 

9.0 

100% 

No.  Cases  . 

488 

2473 

4268 

4300 

1780 

556 

534 

1407 

Total  number  of  cases  receiving  marks  or  being  dropped  from  class,  15,806 


240  The  Boise  Survey 

Simple  preliminary  tests  should  be  devised  to  assist  teachers 
in  selecting  the  pupils  who  will  be  very  likely  to  fail  if  per- 
mitted to  undertake  their  courses  in  order  that  they  may  be 
directed  into  courses  where  they  will  stand  a  chance  to  suc- 
ceed. If  carefully  safeguarded  against  becoming  mechanical, 
the  marking  system  of  the  Boise  high  school  can  be  com- 
mended as  a  distinct  advance  over  the  ordinary  "hit  or  miss" 
plan  in  vogue  in  the  average  high  school. 

J.    Supervised  Study 

The  time  schedule  of  the  Boise  high  school  calls  for  five 
periods  of  one  hour  each,  three  in  the  morning  and  two  in 
the  afternoon.  The  afternoon  session  does  not  begin  until 
1.55,  which  gives  opportunity  for  certain  phases  of  the 
physical  education  program  to  be  carried  out  between  1.15 
and  1.55  o'clock.  There  is  a  5-minute  intermission  between 
class  periods,  but  this  is  so  arranged  as  to  leave  a  full  60 
minutes  for  each  class  exercise.  This  60  minutes  is  sup- 
posed to  be  divided  into  a  recitation  period  of  30  minutes 
and  a  supervised  study  period  of  30  minutes.  There  is  no 
warning  signal  to  indicate  that  the  30  minutes  for  recitation 
has  expired.  The  teachers  are  left  to  determine  for  them- 
selves the  amount  of  time  to  be  given  each  day  to  super- 
vised study. 

The  result  of  this  arrangement  is  that  in  most  cases  the 
entire  60  minutes  is  taken  up  with  recitation  and  discussion 
and  no  time  is  left  for  supervised  study.  If  the  supervised 
study  period  is  to  be  retained,  there  should  be  some  means 
of  providing  for  the  carrying  out  of  a  more  satisfactory 
division  of  time  between  recitation  and  study  period. 

4,     The  Advisory  System 

Thirty-three  of  the  thirty-four  classroom  teachers  in  the 
Boise  high  school  act  as  ''advisers"  to  groups  of  pupils  vary- 
ing in  size  from  16  to  34.  The  pupils  belonging  to  a  given 
"advisory"  assemble  in  the  room  of  their  adviser  20  minutes 


The  High  School  241 

before  the  time  for  the  first  regular  period  in  the  morning 
and  20  minutes  before  the  first  period  in  the  afternoon. 
During  this  time  the  roll  is  taken,  special  announcements 
for  the  day  are  made,  and  the  remainder  of  the  time  is  sup- 
posed to  be  occupied  by  the  adviser  in  giving  special  counsel 
and  help  to  the  pupils  of  his  group,  particularly  those  who 
are  reported  as  doing  poor  work  in  their  classes.  The  ad- 
viser keeps  not  only  the  attendance  record  but  the  scholar- 
ship record  as  well.  The  first  reports  of  scholarship 
deficiencies  are  made  to  the  adviser,  who  confers  with  the 
pupil  and  the  classroom  teacher  with  a  view  to  aiding  the 
pupil  in  making  up  his  work.  No  teacher  is  permitted  to 
give  a  pupil  a  failing  mark  in  a  course,  unless  he  has  previ- 
ously notified  the  pupiPs  adviser  of  the  character  of  the  work 
being  done.  This  notice  must  be  given  in  time  to  enable  the 
adviser  to  be  of  real  service  to  the  pupil  in  overcoming  his 
difficulty. 

The  idea  behind  the  advisory  system  is  a  very  good  one, 
and  a  great  many  of  the  teachers  are  utilizing  the  two  20- 
minute  periods  per  day  to  good  advantage;  but  there  are  a 
number  of  the  teachers  who  permit  extreme  disorder  to  reign 
as  soon  as  the  roll  is  taken  and  the  announcements  made. 
It  is  a  serious  question  whether  it  would  not  be  better  to 
devote  5  minutes  to  roll  taking  and  announcements,  morning 
and  afternoon,  and  either  add  5  minutes  to  each  period, 
making  them  65  minutes  long,  so  that  40  minutes  could  be 
devoted  to  recitation  and  25  minutes  to  making  a  start  on 
the  preparation  of  the  next  day's  lesson  under  the  super- 
vision of  the  teacher,  or  shorten  the  school  day  30  minutes. 
The  advisory  system  could  also  be  utilized  to  advantage  in 
connection  with  a  systematic  organization  of  the  work  in 
educational  and  vocational  guidance.  As  administered  in 
1918-19,  it  did  not  justify  the  40  minutes  allotted  to  it. 

THE    NEED    FOR    A    JUNIOR    COLLEGE    IN    BOISE 

The  establishment  of  a  junior  college  would  give  Boise  a 
more  completely  articulated  educational  system.    The  argu- 


242 


The  Boise  Survey 


ments  in  favor  of  adding  two  years  of  college  work  to  the 
present  four-year  high  school  course  are,  briefly  stated,  as 
follows: 

1.  The  young  people  of  Boise  are  under  the  necessity  of 
traveling  great  distances  when  going  to  institutions  of  higher 
learning.  The  nearest  college  of  standard  grade  is  located 
at  Walla  Walla,  315  miles  north  and  west.  In  order  to  reach 
the  University  of  Idaho  it  is  necessary  to  pass  through  parts 
of  Oregon  and  Washington  and  to  make  a  465-mile  journey. 
The  University  of  Montana  is  648  miles  north,  while  the 
University  of  Washington  is  676  miles  northwest  and  the 
University  of  Oregon  is  492  miles  west. 

2.  An  institution  of  collegiate  rank  in  or  near  a  com- 
munity tends  to  influence  many  young  people  to  continue 
their  education  beyond  the  high  school,  who  otherwise 
would  not  do  so.  This  idea  is  supported  by  the  data  pre- 
sented in  Table  46. 


TABLE  46 

Showing  Percentage  of  High  School  Pupils  Going  on  to  College 
FROM  Boise,  Everett,  Palo  Alto,  and  Walla  Walla 


Year 


Cities 


Boise 


Everett 


Walla  Walla 


Palo  Alto 


1914 

191S 
1916 
1917 
1918 


19.0 
25.2 

255 
21.0 
22.3 


30.0 

59.8 
44.2 
22,0 
26.9 


47.0 
61.2 
66.0 
67.6 
63.2 


69- 3 
60.4 

7S-9 
61.0 

72. S 


Average  Per  Cent 


22.7 


36.6 


62.7 


66.0 


Everett  has  one  year  of  junior  college  work.    The  per- 
centage of  Everett  high  school  pupils  who  continue  their 


The  High  School  243 

education  is  36.6,  and  of  this  group  one  half  remain  for  the 
one  year  of  work  offered  in  the  home  high  school.  The 
Palo  Alto  high  school  sends  66.0  per  cent  of  its  graduates  on 
to  college.  Stanford  University  is  located  within  one  mile  of 
the  Palo  Alto  union  high  school. 

The  most  telling  comparison  with  the  Boise  high  school, 
however,  is  that  of  the  Walla  Walla  high  school.  Walla 
Walla  has  about  the  same  population  as  Boise,  and  has  very 
much  the  same  natural  surroundings.  The  two  high  schools 
are  of  nearly  the  same  size  and  graduate  about  the  same 
number  of  pupils  each  year.  From  Boise  23  and  from 
Walla  Walla  63  out  of  every  100  high  school  graduates  go 
on  to  college.  The  fact  that  Whitman  College  is  located  in 
Walla  Walla  undoubtedly  accounts  for  most  of  this  very 
striking  difference. 

A  junior  college  in  Boise  would  doubtless  mean  that  45 
out  of  every  100  graduates  of  the  high  school  would  con- 
tinue their  education,  and  that  at  least  one  half  of  them 
would  remain  in  the  local  school  for  one  or  two  years  of 
work. 

3.  Educationally  considered,  the  junior  college  is  ad- 
visable because  it  serves  to  complete  the  cycle  of  secondary 
education.  It  is  estimated  that  from  40  to  60  per  cent  of 
the  subjects  pursued  during  the  first  two  years  in  American 
colleges  and  universities  is  of  secondary  grade.  These  sub- 
jects are  frequently  taught  by  instructors  whose  training  is 
not  the  equal  of  the  best  high  school  teachers.  The  sections 
are  too  large  to  permit  individual  instruction.  In  the  junior 
colleges  the  classes  are  relatively  small,  individual  instruc- 
tion is  possible,  and  better  results  may  be  secured. 

A  two  years^  extension  of  the  present  high  school  course  of 
study  would  make  it  possible  to  offer  additional  courses  in 
Agriculture,  Commerce,  and  Social  Science  that  would 
function  more  completely  in  the  economic,  social,  and  civic 
life  of  the  community.  The  graduates  of  the  junior  college 
who  went  up  to  the  universities  would  be  ready  to  enter  the 
professional  and  advanced  courses,  where  they  would  come 


244  ^^^  Boise  Survey 

at  once  into  contact  with  the  strongest  men  on  the  university 
staff. 

4.  It  is  socially  and  morally  desirable  for  adolescents  to 
remain  under  home  guidance  and  supervision  as  long  as 
possible.  In  a  great  university  enrolling  10,000  students, 
approximately  6500  of  them  will  be  in  the  freshman  and 
sophomore  years.  Adequate  supervision  of  such  a  group 
in  a  large  city  is  practically  impossible.  The  result  usually 
is  that  there  is  a  very  heavy  percentage  of  elimination  at  the 
end  of  the  freshman  year,  due  to  failure  in  college  work.  If 
the  first  two  years  of  college  life  were  spent  in  junior  col- 
leges, those  who  went  on  to  the  universities  would  be  more 
mature,  more  settled  as  to  life  purposes,  and  more  capable 
of  meeting  university  standards  of  conduct  and  scholarship. 

5.  Not  only  would  a  junior  college  promote  the  social, 
moral,  and  educational  welfare  of  Boise's  young  men  and 
women,  but  it  would  be  a  distinct  economic  asset  to  the 
city  as  well.  Graduates  of  neighboring  high  schools  would 
be  attracted  to  Boise  for  one  or  two  years  of  college  work, 
and  many  of  those  who  now  leave  Boise  to  attend  college 
would  remain  at  home  until  the  courses  offered  in  the 
Boise  junior  college  had  been  completed.  The  money  spent 
in  support  of  these  young  people  would  aggregate  a  goodly 
sum  that  would  find  its  way  every  year  into  Boise  business 
channels.  The  reputation  of  the  city  as  an  educational 
center  would  be  enhanced  and  many  families  would  thereby 
be  influenced  to  make  Boise  their  home. 

6.  The  cost  of  establishing  a  junior  college  would  not  be 
prohibitive.  The  present  high  school  facilities,  with  appro- 
priate additions  to  library  and  scientific  laboratory  equip- 
ment, would  meet  the  needs  of  the  junior  college.  By  mak- 
ing the  selection  of  future  high  school  instructors  with  the 
work  of  the  junior  college  in  mind,  men  and  women  could 
be  secured  with  the  requisite  training  to  give  the  college 
courses  in  an  acceptable  manner.  To  introduce  the  first 
year  of  the  junior  college  course  would  probably  not  require 
more  than  three  teachers  in  addition  to  the  present  high 
school  staff. 


The  High  School  245 

It  has  been  found  in  California,  where  the  junior  college 
movement  has  attained  its  highest  development,  that  the 
cost  per  pupil  of  junior  college  work  is  from  $125  to  $250 
per  year.  Accredited  junior  colleges  are  affiliated  with  the 
University  of  California,  and  their  graduates  receive  junior 
standing  at  that  institution  and  at  Leland  Stanford  Junior 
University.  A  plan  of  affiliation  between  the  Boise  junior 
college  and  the  University  of  Idaho  could  undoubtedly  be 
worked  out  to  the  advantage  of  all  concerned. 

SUMMARY   AND   RECOMMENDATIONS 

1.  The  articulation  between  the  Boise  high  school  and 
the  elementary  schools  of  the  city  is  very  satisfactory,  as 
shown  by  the  percentage  of  8th  grade  graduates  going  on 
to  the  high  school,  and  also  by  the  relationship  between  the 
total  average  enrollment  in  the  high  school  and  the  total 
average  enrollment  in  all  schools.  This  articulation  could 
be  improved  by  a  distinct  junior  high  school  organization 
housed  in  a  building  by  itself. 

2.  Gymnasium  equipment  and  elementary  agricultural 
laboratory  equipment  are  inadequate. 

3.  The  loss  of  several  most  competent  teachers  might 
have  been  prevented  by  judicious  salary  increases. 

4.  The  working  out  of  the  "Statement  of  Courses"  was 
found  to  have  been  a  social  enterprise  in  which  the  entire 
teaching  staff  was  enlisted.  The  result  is  a  well-balanced 
modern  course  of  study  designed  to  carry  out  the  fundamen- 
tal aims  of  American  secondary  education.  Certain  sugges- 
tions for  administering  the  course  of  study  were  made  in 
the  Hght  of  the  percentage  of  pupils  electing  various  high 
school  subjects  during  the  preceding  five  semesters. 

5.  As  to  internal  administration: 

{a)  The  high  school  principal  should  be  given  sufficient 
clerical  assistance  to  enable  him  to  devote  more  time  to 
supervision  of  teaching  and  carrying  out  the  larger  edu- 
cational policies  of  the  high  school. 


246  The  Boise  Survey 

(b)  The  plan  of  standardized  values  in  grading  for  qual- 
ity of  work  is  commended,  but  attention  is  called  to 
the  unusual  number  of  students  who  are  permitted  to 
drop  courses.  More  carefully  organized  educational 
guidance  would  tend  to  eliminate  this  defect. 

(c)  Supervised  study  is  not  administered  to  the  best  ad- 
vantage. Teachers  disregard  study  periods.  Warning 
signals  are  needed,  as  well  as  closer  supervision  by 
principal  of  teachers'  methods  of  utilizing  study 
periods. 

(d)  The  advisory  system  is  not  functioning  as  it  might. 
Too  much  time  is  now  wasted.  This  could  be  made  an 
effective  means  of  carrying  out  a  systematic  plan  of  edu- 
cational and  vocational  guidance. 

6.  The  establishment  of  a  junior  college  would  round  out 
Boise's  educational  system,  afford  opportunity  for  many 
more  young  people  to  have  collegiate  advantages,  and  be  a 
social,  economic,  and  educational  asset  to  the  city. 


CHAPTER    XI 
EDUCATIONAL  AND   VOCATIONAL   GUIDANCE 

(Proctor) 

THE   NEED  FOR  EDUCATIONAL   AND  VOCATIONAL 
GUIDANCE  IN   BOISE 

IT  should  be  the  purpose  of  the  public  schools  of  any 
community  to  prepare  the  boys  and  girls  of  that  com- 
munity for  the  places  tiiey  are  to  occupy  as  men  and  women. 
In  general  that  preparation  should  be  threefold;  i.e.,  for 
participation  in  the  duties  of  citizenship,  for  earning  a  liveli- 
hood, and  for  the  proper  use  of  leisure  time. 

There  is  evidence  that  the  Boise  schools  are  endeavoring 
to  perform  the  second  of  these  functions,  —  preparation  for 
earning  a  livelihood.  Courses  are  offered  in  agriculture, 
wood-working,  auto-mechanics,  mechanical  drawing,  etc., 
in  addition  to  the  courses  that  lead  to  college  entrance  and 
preparation  for  a  professional  career.  But  there  is  no  in- 
dication that  anything  is  being  done  to  guide  the  boys  and 
girls  of  the  Boise  schools  in  the  selection  of  their  respective 
vocations.  There  are  no  "Life-career"  classes  in  which  in- 
formation is  given  regarding  the  vocational  opportunities  of 
Boise  and  vicinity,  nor  is  there  any  systematic  effort  made 
to  discover  and  record  the  vocational  capabilities  and  in- 
terests of  the  pupils  as  a  first  step  in  advising  them  regarding 
the  occupation  in  which  they  would  be  most  likely  to  suc- 
ceed. There  can  be  no  doubt  that  the  lack  of  systematic 
educational  and  vocational  guidance  results  in  serious  mis- 
application of  effort  in  school  work,  as  well  as  in  many  mis- 
fits in  vocations. 

J.    Occupational  Opportunities,  Occupations  of  Fathers, 
and  Occupational  Ambitions  of  Children 

The  relation  between  the  occupational  opportunities  of 
Boise  and  vicinity,  as  shown  by  the  13  th  United  States 

247 


248  The  Boise  Survey 

Census,  and  the  occupations  of  the  fathers  of  Boise  school 
children  and  the  vocational  ambitions  expressed  by  Boise 
high  school  pupils,  is  brought  out  in  Tables  47,  48,  and  49. 
These  data  are  supplemented  by  other  information  obtained 
from  the  pupils  regarding  their  reasons  for  choosing  the  oc- 
cupation mentioned,  their  courses  of  study  and  their  edu- 
cational plans  after  completing  high  school.  The  high  school 
pupils  who  filled  out  the  questionnaire  relating  to  vocational 
matters  numbered  749.  The  vocational  ambitions  of  the 
grade  pupils  were  not  ascertained,  but  at  the  time  of  giving 
Sie  spelling  test  one  of  the  items  of  information  obtained 
was  in  regard  to  the  occupation  of  the  father  or  bread- 
winner of  the  family.  There  were  1705  grade  children,  from 
the  3d  to  the  8th  grade  inclusive,  who  took  the  spelling  test. 
Thus  there  were  2454  Boise  school  children  who  gave  in- 
formation regarding  the  occupational  status  of  the  homes 
from  which  they  come. 

The  occupational  designations  used  in  the  following  tables 
are  those  found  in  the  report  of  the  Thirteenth  United  States 
Census  (1910),  Vol.  IV,  page  40.  Table  47  shows  the 
occupational  distribution  of  the  homes  from  which  the  chil- 
dren from  the  3d  to  12th  grades,  inclusive,  come.  For  the 
purposes  of  this  survey,  the  Census  designations  "Trade" 
and  "Clerical"  are  combined  under  the  heading  "Com- 
mercial." 

Since  the  occupation  of  the  father  or  bread-winner  is  a 
reasonably  accurate  index  of  the  social  status  of  the  home 
from  which  the  child  comes,  high  school  and  grade  pupils 
have  been  separated  in  this  table  in  order  to  see  wheUier 
there  is  any  marked  difference  in  the  social  status  of  the 
homes  from  which  grade  and  high  school  pupils  come.  This 
contrast  will  appear  in  a  more  marked  degree  in  Table  48, 
where  the  occupations  of  the  fathers  have  been  assigned  to 
ranks  based  on  preparation  and  ability  necessary  for  success. 

The  data  set  forth  in  Table  47  show  clearly  the  occupa- 
tional trends  in  Boise.  It  is  true  that  not  all  the  people  of 
Boise  have  children  in  the  public  schools,  but  those  who  do 


Educational  and  Vocational  Guidance 


249 


TABLE  47 

Giving  the  Distribution  of  the  Pupils  of  the  Boise  Schools  from  the 
3D  to  the  I2TH  Grades,  Inclusive,  According  to  Occupation  of  Father 
OR  Bread-winner 


Numbers 

Total 

Per  Cents 

Occupations, 

General 

Divisions 

Grade 
Pupils 

High 
School 
Pupils 

Grade 
Pupils 

High 
School 
PupUs 

Total 

Agriculture     .    .    . 

Commercial    .    .    . 

Mfg.  and  Mechani- 
cal     

Transportation  .    . 

Public  Service    .    . 

Professional    .   .    . 

Extraction  of  Min- 
erals  

Domestic  Service  . 

Common  Labor     . 

Retired,  Father 
Dead,  or  No  Oc- 
cupation Given  . 

233 
396 

Sii 
69 
^3 

163 

28 

25 
117 

80 

188 
183 

177 
24 
31 
8S 

8 
2 
6 

45 

421 
579 

688 

93 
114 
248 

36 

27 
123 

125 

13-66 
23-33 

29.65 
4.13 
4.8s 
9-56 

1.74 
1-55 
6.78 

4.75 

25.20 
24.40 

23-30 
3-30 
4.20 

11.40 

I.IO 

•30 
.80 

6.00 

17.20 
23.60 

28.00 
3-90 

4.50 
10.10 

1-50 

I.IO 

5.00 
5.10 

Totals 

1705 

749 

2454 

100.00 

100.00 

100.00 

are  thoroughly  representative  of  the  general  population. 
Agriculture,  Commercial,  Manufacturing,  and  Mechanical 
and  Professional  occupations  absorb  78.9  per  cent  of  the 
fathers  of  the  Boise  school  children,  5.0  per  cent  are  en- 
gaged in  common  labor,  5.10  per  cent  of  the  children  come 
from  homes  where  the  father  is  dead  or  no  occupation  was 
given,  which  leaves  only  ii.o  per  cent  engaged  in  extraction 
of  minerals,  transportation,  public  service,  and  domestic 
service. 


250 


The  Boise  Survey 


TABLE  48 

Comparing  the  Percentage  of  People  Engaged  in  the  Various  Oc- 
cupational Divisions,  in  the  United  States  as  a  Whole,  in  the 
Pacific  and  Mountain  Divisions,  and  in  Boise,  as  Shown  by 
Occupations  of  Fathers  of  School  Pupils 


Per  Cents  Engaged  by  Districts 

Occupations, 
General  Divisions 

United 
States 

Pacific 
Division 

Mountain 
Division 

Boise 

Agriculture     .   .   .'  . 
Extraction  of  Minerals 
Mfg.  and  Mechanical 
Transportation  .   .    . 
Commercial    .... 
Public  Service    .   .   . 
Professional    .... 
Domestic  Service  .   . 

33-2 

2.5 
27.9 

6.9 

14. 1 

1.2 

4-4 
9.9 

22.6 

2.4 

27.2 

10.3 

18. 1 

2.0 

6.0 

II. 3 

32.4 
9-4 
19s 
10.3 
12.3 
1.7 

5-2 

9.1 

17.20 

1.50 
28.00 

390 
23.60 

4.50 
10.10 

1. 10 

How  Boise  compares  in  the  occupational  distribution  of 
its  citizens  with  the  rest  of  the  United  States,  with  the 
Pacific  Coast  States  and  the  Mountain  States,  is  set  forth 
in  Table  48.  Boise  appears  to  have  a  larger  proportion  of 
its  gainful  workers  in  Manufacturing  and  Mechanical,  Com- 
mercial, Professional,  and  Public  Service  occupations  than 
either  the  Pacific  Division,  the  Mountain  Division,  or  the 
United  States  as  a  whole.  On  the  other  hand  it  has  fewer 
representatives  engaged  in  extraction  of  minerals,  trans- 
portation, domestic  service,  or  agriculture  than  the  other 
sections  mentioned. 

The  relatively  high  percentage  of  children  coming  from 
homes  where  the  father  is  engaged  in  agriculture  is  explain- 
able on  the  ground  that  Boise  is  the  center  of  an  extensive 
agricultural  region.  Professional  workers  and  those  en- 
gaged in  public  service  are  more  numerous  in  Boise  than  in 
the  average  community  because  it  is  the  state  capital  of 
Idaho  and  the  county  seat  of  Ada  County. 


Educational  and  Vocational  Guidance 


251 


TABLE  49 

Comparing  Occupational  Choices  of  749  Boise  High  School  Pupils, 
Distributed  under  the  Designations  Employed  in  the  13TH  United 
States  Census  (1910),  with  the  Occupations  of  the  Fathers  or 
Bread-winners  in  the  Homes  from  which  the  Pupils  Come 


Occupational 

Occupational  Choices  of  High 

Occupations 

Engaged  in  by 

Fathers 

Designations 

School  Pupils 

Numbers 

Per  Cent 

Number 

Per  Cent 

Boys 

Girls 

Total 

Boys 

Girls 

Total 

Agriculture     .... 

52 

0 

52 

17.0 

0.0 

6.7 

188 

25.2 

Extraction  of  Miner- 

als     

0 

0 

0 

0.0 

0.0 

0.0 

8 

I.I 

Mfg.  and  Mechanical . 

31 

8 

39 

10.3 

2.0 

5.0 

177 

23-3 

Transportation  .    .    . 

2 

0 

2 

0.7 

0.0 

0.3 

24 

3'S 

Public  Service    .    .    . 

6 

0 

6 

2.0 

0.0 

0.8 

31 

4.2 

Commercial    .... 

36 

143 

179 

12.0 

32. 5 

23.6 

183 

24.4 

Professional    .... 

I2S 

234 

359 

41-3 

51-5 

48.8 

85 

II. 4 

Domestic  Service  ^    . 

0 

10 

10 

0.0 

2.5 

1-3 

2 

03 

Common  Labor     .    . 

0 

0 

0 

0.0 

0.0 

0.0 

6 

0.8 

No  Choice,  or  no  Oc- 

cupation Given  .    . 

51 

SI 

102 

16.7 

"•5 

13.5 

45 

6.0 

Totals 

303 

446 

749 

100. 0 

100. 0 

100. 0 

749 

100. 0 

1  The  ten  girls  coming  under  this  designation  expressed  an  ambition  to  become  "home-makers" 
or  "  housewives."  Strictly  speaking,  they  do  not  belong  to  the  "  Domestic  Service  "  class  of  gainful 
workers,  but  there  was  no  other  designation  under  which  their  choices  could  be  indicated. 


2.    Contrast  between  Occupations  of  Fathers  and  the 
Occupational  Ambitions  of  Their  Children 

Table  49  makes  a  comparison  between  the  occupations  of 
the  fathers  of  the  Boise  high  school  pupils  and  the  voca- 
tional ambitions  of  the  pupils  themselves.    Approximately 


252  The  Boise  Survey 

25  per  cent  of  the  fathers  are  engaged  in  agriculture;  only 
7  per  cent  of  the  pupils  plan  to  engage  in  that  vocation;  23 
per  cent  of  the  fathers  make  a  living  in  manufacturing  and 
mechanical  pursuits;  only  5  per  cent  of  the  boys  and  girls 
are  ambitious  along  those  lines.  When  we  come  to  the  Com- 
mercial subdivision,  which  includes  "trade"  and  "clerical" 
occupations,  we  find  that  there  are  24  per  cent  of  the  fathers 
and  24  per  cent  of  the  pupils  classified  under  that  head.  It 
should  be  noted,  however,  that  most  of  the  fathers  are  en- 
gaged in  "trade,"  while  most  of  the  pupils,  especially  the 
girls,  are  ambitious  to  occupy  clerical  positions  as  stenog- 
raphers, bookkeepers,  etc. 

The  most  pronounced  contrast  between  occupations  of 
fathers  and  ambitions  of  pupils  is  found  under  the  designa- 
tion "Professional."  Here  we  find  that  while  only  11  per 
cent  of  the  fathers  are  engaged  in  professional  callings,  there 
are  49  per  cent  of  the  boys  and  girls  who  would  like  to 
enter  some  profession.  Of  the  125  boys  who  mentioned 
some  profession,  8  wanted  to  be  chemists;  24,  lawyers;  26, 
doctors;  57,  engineers;  and  only  3,  teachers;  none  wanted 
to  be  preachers.  There  were  7  miscellaneous.  Of  the  234 
girls  who  mentioned  a  professional  career,  8  wanted  to  be 
artists;  8,  musicians;  3,  actresses;  3,  missionaries;  4,  libra- 
rians; 24,  trained  nurses;  and  175,  teachers;  miscellaneous, 
9.  These  two  groups  —  125  boys  and  234  girls  —  comprised 
49  per  cent  of  the  749  high  school  pupils  who  expressed  a 
vocational  preference. 

3,    Social  and  Economic  Status  a  Factor  in 
High  School  Attendance 

Table  49,  middle  section,  showing  per  cents  of  fathers  of 
grade  and  high  school  pupils  coming  under  each  rank,  shows 
that  the  high  school  recruits  its  pupils  more  from  the  upper 
three  ranks,  I,  II,  and  III,  than  does  the  grade  school.  It 
appears  that  81.78  per  cent  of  the  high  school  pupils  come 
from  homes  where  the  rank  of  the  father's  occupation  is 


Educational  and  Vocational  Guidance         253 

I,  II,  or  III,  and  only  11.6  of  the  high  school  pupils  come 
from  homes  where  the  father's  occupation  ranks  IV  or  V. 
In  the  case  of  the  grade  children,  there  are  68.8  per  cent  who 
come  from  homes  where  the  father's  occupation  ranks  I,  II, 
or  III,  and  26.6  per  cent,  or  over  twice  as  many  in  propor- 
tion, who  come  from  homes  where  the  father's  occupation 
ranks  IV  or  V. 

These  facts,  combined  with  the  fact,  as  shown  in  Table 
47,  that  while  117  fathers  of  grade  pupils,  or  6.78  per  cent, 
are  engaged  in  common  labor,  only  6  fathers  of  high  school 
pupils,  or  0.8  per  cent,  are  engaged  in  common  labor,  make 
it  clear  that  the  high  school  population  is  rather  highly 
selected  socially  and  economically.  The  unavoidable  infer- 
ence is  that  a  great  many  children  from  the  homes  where 
the  father  is  engaged  in  semi-skilled  or  unskilled  labor,  which 
are  represented  in  Table  50  by  ranks  IV  and  V,  are  under 
the  economic  necessity  of  leaving  school  and  going  to  work  as 
soon  as  they  have  completed  the  eight  grades  of  the  grammar 
school.  Failing  to  arrive  at  this  goal,  they  drop  out  and  go 
to  work  as  soon  as  they  have  reached  the  legal  age,  which 
for  the  state  of  Idaho  is  18  years. 

Statistical  studies  by  Thorndike  and  Strayer  show  that 
from  40  to  60  per  cent  of  the  pupils  who  enter  the  grade 
schools  never  enter  high  school  at  all.  That  by  far  the 
greater  proportion  of  those  who  drop  out  are  the  children 
from  the  homes  where  the  occupational  status  of  the  father 
is  that  of  semi-skilled  or  unskilled  labor  is  indicated  by 
Tables  49  and  50.  The  same  fact  is  indicated  by  a  similar 
study  of  1479  California  high  school  pupils.  From  this 
study  it  appeared  that  only  10.3  per  cent  came  from  homes 
where  the  father's  occupation  ranked  IV,  and  2.6  per  cent 
where  the  father's  occupation  ranked  V.  Over  80  per  cent  of 
the  high  school  pupils  in  the  nine  California  high  schools 
included  in  the  study  came  from  homes  where  the  father's 
occupation  ranked  I,  II,  or  III. 

These  facts  tend  to  prove  that  the  greatest  amount  of  elim- 
ination from  our  public  schools  is  found  among  pupils  who 


254  ^^^  Boise  Survey 

come  from  homes  where  there  is  the  least  chance  that  they 
will  receive  adequate  educational  and  vocational  guidance. 
There  is  much  evidence  to  support  the  contention  that  most 
of  this  elimination  would  be  prevented  if  our  public  schools 
gave  the  attention  they  should  to  scientific  guidance  in  the 
matter  of  school  work  and  possible  life-careers. 

As  further  evidence  of  the  need  of  guidance  in  the  matter 
of  the  selection  of  a  vocation,  reference  is  had  again  to 
Tables  48  and  49.  Table  48  gives  the  percentages  of  people 
engaged  in  the  main  occupational  subdivisions  in  the  United 
States,  in  the  Pacific  and  in  the  Mountain  States,  and  also 
in  Boise.  Table  49  shows  the  occupational  ambitions  of 
the  Boise  high  school  pupils  and  the  distribution  of  the 
occupations  of  the  fathers.  Almost  one  half  (49.0  per  cent) 
of  the  high  school  pupils  plan  to  enter  a  profession,  whereas 
only  about  one  tenth  (11.4  per  cent)  of  the  fathers  of  the 
high  school  pupils  in  Boise  and  only  5.2  per  cent  of  the  gain- 
ful workers  of  the  Mountain  States  are  engaged  in  profes- 
sional pursuits. 

Again,  only  6.7  per  cent  of  the  Boise  high  school  pupils 
plan  a  career  along  agricultural  lines,  while  25.2  per  cent  of 
the  fathers  of  Boise  high  school  pupils  are  engaged  in  agri- 
culture, and  32.4  per  cent  of  the  gainful  workers  in  the 
Mountain  division  are  engaged  in  agricultural  occupations. 
The  same  discrepancy  is  found  in  the  case  of  manufacturing 
and  mechanical  pursuits.  There  are  23.3  per  cent  of  the 
Boise  fathers  of  high  school  pupils  engaged  in  the  last- 
mentioned  occupations,  but  only  5  per  cent  of  the  high 
school  pupils  have  vocational  ambitions  in  that  direction. 

The  only  point  where  there  is  approximate  agreement  be- 
tween the  percentage  of  workers  engaged  in  a  group  of 
occupations  and  the  occupational  ambitions  of  the  high 
school  pupils  of  Boise  comes  under  the  heading  "Commer- 
cial," where  23.6  per  cent  of  the  pupils'  ambitions  fall,  and 
in  which  24.4  per  cent  of  the  fathers  of  the  high  school  pu- 
pils are  engaged;  but,  as  previously  explained,  most  of  the 
fathers  are  engaged  in  trade  or  business  as  owners,  managers, 


Educational  and  Vocational  Guidance         255 


TABLE  50 

Showing  the  Rank  of  the  Occupations  of  the  Fathers  of  Boise  High 
School  and  Grade  Pupils,  and  also  the  Rank  of  the  Vocational 
Ambitions  of  749  High  School  Pupils,  According  to  an  Occupational 
Scale  Based  on  Training  and  Ability  Necessary  for  Success  in 
THE  Occupation 


Numbers 

Per  Cents 

Vocational 

Ambitions  of 

High  School 

Pupils 

Rank  of 
Occupation  ^ 

fli  <u  tn 
rt  «H  :3 

Fathers  of 
High  School 
Pupils 

e5 

Fathers  of 
High  School 
Pupils 

I 

No. 

Per 
Cent 

I 

II 

Ill 

IV 

V 

No  Occupation 

or  Voc.  Amb. 

Given  .... 

216 
383 

573 

215 

238 
80 

141 

249 

227 

48 

39 

45 

357 
632 
800 
263 

277 

125 

12.7 
22.5 
33.6 
12.6 
14.0 

4.6 

18.8 

33.4 

30-2 

6.4 

5.2 

6.0 

14.5 
25.8 
32.6 
10.7 
"3 

5-1 

277 

173 

195 

2 

0 

102 

37.0 

23.1 

26.2 

0.2 

0,0 

13-5 

Totals 

1705 

749 

2454 

100. 0 

100. 0 

100. 0 

749 

lOO.O 

1  Rank  I  is  made  up  of  the  professional  occupations:  law,  medicine,  the 
ministry,  higher  grade  of  teachers,  engineers,  etc.;  also  of  high 
state  and  government  officials,  large  property  holders,  owners 
and  managers  of  large  business  and  manufacturing  establishments, 
etc. 

Rank  II  consists  of  the  semi-professional,  higher  clerical  and  managerial 
positions,  grade  teachers,  etc. 

Rank  III  is  made  up  of  skilled  workmen,  carpenters,  mechanics,  etc.;  also 
of  office  workers,  salesmen,  etc. 

Rank  IV  includes  semi-skilled  workmen;  also  street-car  motormen,  and 
conductors,  policemen,  letter  carriers,  etc. 

Rank  V  includes  unskilled  miners,  mill  workers,  factory  hands,  day 
laborers,  and  all  classes  of  unskilled  operatives. 


256  The  Boise  Survey 

or  salesmen,  while  the  bulk  of  the  ambitions  of  the  pupils 
runs  to  clerical  positions. 

4.    The  Schools'  Responsibility  for  Guidance 

It  is  reasonably  certain  that  in  the  long  run  the  occupa- 
tional distribution  of  the  pupils  in  the  public  schools  of 
Boise  will  approximate  the  percentages  of  the  Mountain 
division  of  states  and  of  Boise  itself.  Much  time  will  be 
saved,  much  energy  conserved,  and  the  best  interests  of 
the  pupils  and  the  state  will  be  advanced  if  the  pupils  of 
the  Boise  schools  receive  such  information  about  occupa- 
tions in  general  and  about  the  qualifications  necessary  for 
success  in  them,  and  such  help  from  their  teachers  in  esti- 
mating their  abilities,  as  will  enable  them  to  make  wise 
selection  of  their  life  occupation  while  still  in  school. 

If  in  addition  to  wise  vocational  guidance  the  pupils  in 
the  intermediate  and  high  schools  are  given  careful  educa- 
tional guidance,  —  i.e.,  such  help  in  planning  their  courses 
of  study  in  the  light  of  their  vocational  ambitions  as  will 
enable  them  to  see  the  connection  between  their  school  tasks 
and  their  life  beyond  the  school,  —  there  will  result  a  better 
motivation  of  school  work,  pupils  will  remain  in  school 
longer,  and  the  schools  will  more  nearly  fulfill  their  function 
of  preparing  the  boys  and  girls  of  Boise  for  the  duties  of 
citizenship,  the  responsibilities  of  bread-winning,  and  the 
socially  profitable  enjoyment  of  their  leisure  time. 

A    REASONABLE    PROGRAM    OF    EDUCATIONAL    AND 
VOCATIONAL  GUIDANCE  FOR  BOISE 

J.    Part-time  Counselors 

At  least  one  member  of  the  high  school  teaching  staff 
should  be  qualified  to  organize  and  supervise  the  work  in 
educational  and  vocational  guidance  in  the  high  school.  This 
teacher,  preferably  a  vice-principal,  should  be  relieved  from 
at  least  one  half  his  teaching  work  and  charged  with  the 


Educational  and  Vocational  Guidance         257 

responsibility  of  carrying  out  a  definite  plan  for  the  educa- 
tional and  vocational  guidance  of  high  school  pupils.  In 
the  grades  there  should  be  one  teacher  in  each  building, 
preferably  the  principal,  to  take  charge  of  this  important 
feature  of  the  school  work. 

2,     Uniform  Blanks   and  Cards   for    Gathering 
Necessary  Information 

Space  should  be  provided  on  the  regular  record  cards  for 
items  relative  to  vocational  aptitudes,  preferences,  etc.,  as 
observed  by  a  pupil's  different  teachers  during  his  progress 
through  the  grades.  There  should  also  be  notations  regard- 
ing moral  and  physical  qualities.  These  items,  combined 
with  the  customary  record  of  school  marks,  would  be  of  in- 
valuable aid  to  educational  and  vocational  counselors.  The 
necessity  for  recording  these  facts  would  give  the  classroom 
teacher  a  more  intimate  knowledge  of  her  pupils  and  tend 
to  develop  her  interest  in  the  vocational  future  of  those 
under  her  care.  Thus  cooperation  with  the  official  coun- 
selors would  be  assured. 

J.    Life-career  Classes 

After  a  vocational  survey  of  the  high  school  has  been 
made,  or  of  the  pupils  in  the  upper  grades  of  the  grammar 
school,  those  who  express  a  preference  for  a  given  occupation 
can  be  brought  together  in  a  special  class  or  group  once  a 
week,  to  make  a  special  study  of  that  occupation.  These 
classes  should  take  up  and  discuss  personal  qualities  de- 
manded of  those  who  engage  in  such  an  occupation,  prepara- 
tion required,  wages  or  income  to  be  expected,  length  of 
working  season,  conditions  of  work,  organization  of  3ie  in- 
dustry, opportunities  for  regular  employment,  opportunities 
for  advancement,  etc. 

Beginning  with  the  occupation  in  which  the  members  of 
the  group  are  most  interested,  the  work  can  be  extended  to 
include  many  different  occupations.  Where  it  is  not  possible 


2S8  The  Boise  Survey 

to  organize  special  classes,  much  valuable  information  re- 
garding vocations  can  be  imparted  to  the  pupils  by  assigning 
different  occupations  as  topics  for  themes  in  English  com- 
position and  also  by  encouraging  debates  on  the  relative 
merits  of  occupations  in  which  the  children  are  interested. 
The  local  Chamber  of  Commerce  will  be  glad  to  cooperate 
in  the  matter  of  collecting  information  about  the  occupations 
of  Boise  and  vicinity,  the  public  library  will  no  doubt  be 
willing  to  develop  a  collection  of  standard  books  dealing 
with  the  various  occupations,  while  business  and  professional 
men  will  gladly  give  time  to  talk  with  interested  boys  and 
girls  about  their  own  lines  of  work,  provided  specific  dates 
are  made  and  definite  instructions  as  to  just  what  is  wanted 
of  them  are  forthcoming. 

4,    Placement 

The  most  satisfactory  vocational  guidance  is  that  which 
not  only  assists  the  individual  in  acquiring  vocational  in- 
formation and  in  estimating  his  own  qualifications  in  the 
light  of  the  demands  of  different  occupations  upon  intelli- 
gence, character,  and  aptitude,  but  also  provides  opportunity 
for  vocational  experimentation.  The  so-called  vocational 
subjects  are  for  the  most  part  given  under  "school"  con- 
ditions and  for  that  reason  do  not  constitute  a  genuine  "try- 
out"  in  the  occupation  for  which  they  are  designed  to  be  a 
preparation.  It  is  necessary  for  the  school  authorities  in 
charge  of  vocational  and  educational  guidance,  therefore, 
to  work  out  some  plan  of  part-time  employment,  or  vacation 
placement  in  occupations  akin  to  the  life-career  interests 
of  those  who  are  about  to  complete  their  education.  This 
is  not  so  vital  in  the  case  of  those  who  expect  to  continue 
their  education  in  colleges,  universities,  and  other  institu- 
tions beyond  the  high  school ;  but  for  those  in  the  grades  and 
in  the  high  school  who  must  enter  the  competition  for  a 
livelihood  without  the  advantage  which  comes  from  higher 
education,  there  is  need  for  a  certain  amount  of  occupational 


Educational  and  Vocational  Guidance         259 

prospecting  in  order  that  final  adjustment  to  the  best  pos- 
sible occupation  may  be  made  as  soon  as  possible  after 
leaving  school. 

To  this  end  the  public  schools  should  maintain  a  place- 
ment bureau,  which  would  have  available  all  the  information 
concerning  the  vocational  ambitions  and  physical  and  mental 
characteristics  of  the  pupils  that  the  teachers  and  vocational 
counselors  have  been  able  to  gather.  Efforts  should  be 
made  by  this  bureau  to  place  the  boys  and  girls  who  are 
most  likely  to  be  compelled  to  leave  school  early  in  posi- 
tions in  line  with  their  vocational  interests  and  abilities  for 
the  summer  vacations,  or  for  part-time  work  during  the 
school  year.  By  keeping  in  touch  with  youth  so  placed,  the 
counselors  will  be  in  a  much  better  position  to  give  them 
sound  advice,  and  to  help  them  in  selecting  the  occupation 
which  they  should  ultimately  enter,  than  in  any  other  way. 

5.    Employment  of  Psychological  Tests 

Psychological  tests  were  applied  to  the  drafted  personnel 
of  the  army,  and  the  results  proved  to  be  immensely  valu- 
able in  the  classification  of  the  men  and  their  placement  in 
the  situations  where  they  would  be  able  to  render  the  most 
effective  service.  Among  other  things  it  was  found  that 
there  are  different  levels  of  intelligence  found  among  those 
engaged  in  different  occupations.  For  example,  engineer 
officers  made  an  average  score  in  the  psychological  tests 
four  times  greater  than  that  made  by  common  laborers.  A 
commission,  under  the  auspices  of  the  Rockefeller  Founda- 
tion, is  now  at  work  adapting  the  tests  used  in  the  army  to 
the  needs  of  the  public  schools.  Every  city  of  the  size  and 
importance  of  Boise  should  have  on  the  teaching  or  super- 
visorial staff  of  its  public  schools  a  person  competent  to 
administer  and  interpret  the  results  of  individual  and  group 
mental  tests. 

A  concrete  example  will  illustrate  the  possible  use  of 
mental  tests  in  educational  and  vocational  guidance.    One 


26o  The  Boise  Survey 

of  the  members  of  the  survey  staff  was  requested  to  test  a 
high  school  pupil  with  the  Stanford  Revision  of  the  Binet- 
Simon  Intelligence  Scale.  It  was  found  that  this  pupil,  who 
was  in  the  9B  grade  and  17  years  and  2  months  old,  had 
the  mentality  of  a  child  1 1  years  of  age.  She  had  attempted 
four  subjects:  English,  Latin,  General  Science,  and  Sewing. 
She  failed  during  the  first  semester  in  Latin,  General 
Science,  and  Sewing,  barely  scoring  a  passing  grade  in  Eng- 
lish. The  mental  test  was  given  near  the  close  of  the  school 
year,  and  all  her  teachers  had  handed  in  her  name  as  one 
doing  work  below  passing  grade  for  the  second  semester. 
The  test  revealed  in  40  minutes  what  it  took  the  high  school 
teachers  a  whole  year  to  find  out;  namely,  that  the  girl  did 
not  have  the  mental  ability  to  do  high  school  work.  A  year 
of  her  time  and  of  the  energy  of  her  teachers  was  wasted. 

Mental  tests,  wisely  employed,  would  put  the  teachers 
and  vocational  counselors  in  possession  of  knowledge  of  the 
pupil's  intellectual  capacity  which  could  be  utilized  both 
in  planning  his  course  of  study  so  that  he  would  be  able  to 
master  his  school  work  and  make  progress  according  to  his 
ability,  and  also  in  determining  the  general  occupational 
level  to  which  he  might  aspire  with  reasonable  hope  of 
success. 


SUMMARY  AND  RECOMMENDATIONS 

1.  Educational  and  vocational  guidance  was  found  to  be 
neglected  in  the  Boise  schools. 

2.  That  work  along  these  lines  is  much  needed  is  shown 
by  tables  giving  the  distribution  of  occupations  engaged  in 
by  the  fathers  of  Boise  grade  and  high  school  pupils;  also 
by  the  distribution  of  gainful  workers  in  the  main  occupa- 
tional subdivisions  in  the  United  States  at  large,  as  well  as 
for  the  Pacific  and  Mountain  states;  finally  by  the  dis- 
crepancy shown  to  exist  between  the  vocational  ambitions 
of  pupils  and  the  percentages  of  workers  engaged  in  the 
different  lines  of  gainful  endeavor  in  Boise  and  vicinity. 


Educational  and  Vocational  Guidance         261 

3.  A  reasonable  program  of  educational  and  vocational 
guidance  is  recommended  for  the  Boise  public  schools.  Such 
a  program  would  consist  of  {a)  the  appointment  of  part-time 
counselors  in  the  high  and  grade  schools;  (^)  the  use  of  uni- 
form blanks  for  recording  educational  and  vocational  data; 
(c)  the  organization  of  life-career  classes  for  gathering  and 
imparting  information  concerning  occupations;  {d)  develop- 
ment of  a  system  of  placement  to  enable  pupils  to  get  part- 
time  and  vacation  experience  along  the  lines  of  their  occupa- 
tional ambitions;  (e)  the  employment  of  mental  tests  as  a 
means  of  discovering  the  native  endowment  of  pupils  in  order 
that  school  tasks  may  be  adapted  to  their  ability  and  voca- 
tions suggested  in  which  they  will  have  a  chance  of  ultimate 
success. 


CHAPTER  XII 
COSTS   AND    BUSINESS    MANAGEMENT 

THE   PROBLEM   STATED 

THERE  is  no  single  aspect  of  a  school  system  more 
difficult  to  judge  accurately  at  the  present  time  than 
that  of  costs.  The  conditions  of  war  have  not  only  modified 
our  educational  aims  but  they  have  so  altered  the  value  of 
money  and  of  commodities  as  to  make  all  past  financial 
standards  next  to  useless  as  a  basis  for  judging  present- 
day  expenditures.  Any  comparison  of  present  with  past 
costs  must  therefore  be  considered  in  the  light  of  these 
fluctuating  values.  We  can  keep  in  mind  that  most  fluctua- 
tions have  been  upward  and  that  figures  for  1919  must  for 
this  reason  alone  be  much  higher  than  similar  figures  for 
five  or  ten  years  earlier. 

In  this  report  the  weak  points  in  Boise's  school  system 
have  been  pointed  out  and  recommendations  have  been 
made  for  numerous  improvements.  The  report  calls  for 
a  larger  teaching  force;  for  more  thorough  supervision;  for 
additions  to  curriculum;  for  added  library  and  equipment; 
for  better  buildings;  for  greater  attention  to  matters  oif 
health  and  physical  development;  for  certain  lines  of  re- 
organization; for  the  organization  of  special  classes;  for 
vocational  and  educational  guidance;  for  night  schools;  and, 
finally,  for  the  development  of  a  junior  college.  While  some 
of  these  changes  will  call  for  no  more  than  a  rearrangement 
of  present  expenditures,  others  will  call  for  additional  out- 
lays. Is  Boise  financially  able  to  assume  this  larger  obliga- 
tion, remembering  that  the  city  is  growing  rapidly  and  even 
with  the  present  program  must  gradually  enlarge  her  educa- 
tional budget? 

In  Chapter  I  certain  facts  were  brought  out  which  tend 
to  show  that  Boise  occupies  a  favorable  position  in  the  mat- 

36a 


Costs  and  Business  Management  263 

ter  of  educational  costs.  The  city  is  growing;  it  has  promise 
of  rapid  financial  development;  the  population  is  becoming 
more  and  more  homogeneous;  the  city  ranks  low  in  number 
of  children  of  school  age  and  high  in  young  adults;  general 
government  —  police,  fire,  and  health  protection,  etc.  —  cost 
relatively  less  in  Boise  than  elsewhere;  illiteracy,  though 
still  a  problem,  is  on  the  decrease;  there  is  no  unusual  pres- 
sure for  the  development  of  technical  schools  with  expensive 
laboratories;  and  the  city  has  been  operating  with  a  rela- 
tively low  tax  rate.  Every  one  of  these  items  gives  Boise  a 
financial  advantage  when  it  comes  to  providing  the  kind  and 
amount  of  education  needed  by  the  city's  children.  Opposed 
to  this  favorable  showing  is  the  single  fact  that  Boise's  per 
capita  wealth  is  slightly  below  average  for  cities  of  that  class. 

The  following  tables  will  form  a  basis  for  judging  of  the 
extent  to  which  Boise  is  living  up  to  her  obligations  in  the 
matter  of  expenditures  for  education. 

Boise's  income  for  education  is  derived  mainly  from  the 
state,  the  county,  and  the  district  and  from  tuition  from 
outside  pupils.  During  the  past  decade  the  total  annual 
income  has  varied  from  $200,000  to  $250,000,  while  the 
expenditures  have  ranged  from  $180,000  to  $280,000  per 
year. 

With  this  amount  of  money  Boise  is  now  keeping  up  ten 
school  buildings  and  adding  a  new  building  this  year,  and 
providing  training  for  approximately  3500  children,  or 
roughly  one  fifth  of  the  city's  population. 

Table  No.  51  shows  Boise's  place  among  26  cities  of  her 
own  class  in  respect  to  per  capita  cost  of  education.^  From 
this  table  it  will  be  seen  that  Boise  spends  $5.36  for  each 
man,  woman,  or  child  in  the  city.  The  range  for  the  26 
cities  is  from  $2.30  to  $8.96  per  capita.  This  gives  Boise 
a  median  position.    A  closer  study  of  the  table,  however, 

1  There  are  91  cities  in  the  United  States  with  populations  of  30,000  to 
50,000.  These  26  cities  are  representative  of  the  group,  in  that  all  states 
contaming  such  cities  are  represented  by  at  least  one  city.  (Based  on 
Financial  Statistics  of  Cities,  United  States  Census,  191 7.) 


264 


The  Boise  Survey 


Boise's   school   costs   compared  with   those 
IN  other  cities 

I.    Per  Capita  Cost  of  Education 

TABLE  51 

Per  Capita  Cost  of  Education  in  26  Cities  (Financial  Statistics 
OF  Cities,  United  States  Census,  191 7) 


aty 

Per  Capita  Cost 

1.  Brookline,  Mass 

2.  Elmira,N.  Y 

3.  Madison,  Wis 

$8.96 
8.22 
7-94 
7-94 
7.03 

6.93 
6.SS 

4    Stockton,  Calif 

5.  Colorado  Springs,  Colo 

6.  Stamford,  Conn 

7.  Oranee.  N.  T 

8.  Ogden,  Utah 

6.27 

0    Tulsa  Okla 

6.21 

10    Everett,  Wash 

6.14 

11.  Bellmgham,  Wash 

12.  Niagara  Falls,  N.  Y 

13.  BOISE,  IDAHO 

14.  Charleston,  W.  Va 

jg    Jackson  Mich 

5  99 
5- 70 
5.36 
S-29 
«;.28 

16.  Aurora,  111 

5-23 
4.01 

17.  Easton,  Pa 

t8     Tonlin.  Mo 

4.73 
4.37 
4-32 
3.87 
'?.04 

19.  Knoxville,  Tenn 

20    Austin  Texas     

21.  Zanesville,  Ohio 

22.  Newp)ort,  Ky 

2^    ShreveDort.  La 

2.90 
2.47 

24.  Columbia,  S.  C 

25.  Wilmington,  N.  C 

26.  Portsmouth,  Va 

2.31 
2.30 

Average,  26  cities,  5.39 


Median,  26  cities,  5.33 


shows  that  there  is  not  a  western  city  that  ranks  lower  than 
Boise.     Among  the  91  cities  of  this  class  in  the  United 


Costs  and  Business  Management 


26s 


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O&DENt  UThH 
EVERETT,  VM3H. 
BELLIN3H/7M,W/J3H. 
BO/6€,  IMHO 
BUTTE,  MONT^ti/^  ■. 

PER  CAPITA  COST  IN  $        { 

W/A 

'//////. 

m//y///Ay////AVA 

1 

= 

'•* 

\ 

:    -  , 

i  i  i-  i  J 

< 

i-rt 

Fig.  37.    Per  Capita  Cost  of  Education  in  Western  Cities  of  Boise's 
Population  Class 

States  there  are  four  western  cities  which  are  not  included 
in  our  table:  Pasadena,  San.  Jose,  and  Fresno,  California, 
with  per  capita  costs  of  $10.06,  $7.02,  and  $8.33,  respec- 
tively, and  Butte,  Montana,  with  a  per  capita  cost  of  $5.30. 
Boise  should  be  compared  with  western  cities  rather  than 
with  the  United  States  as  a  whole,  and  when  so  compared 
her  position  is  seen  by  Figure  37  to  argue  that  Boise  must 
increase  her  expenditures  for  education  if  she  wishes  to  keep 
pace  with  neighboring  cities. 


2,    Cost  per  Person  5  to  ig  Years  Old  Inclusive 

If  Boise  were  providing  schooling  for  all  who  are  legally 
entitled  to  it,  that  would  include  all  children  between  the  ages 
of  6  and  21  years.  Figures  to  compute  cost  on  this  basis 
are  not  available  for  all  cities,  though  by  using  figures  from 
Tables  4  and  51  we  can  compute  approximately  the  191 7 
cost  per  census  child. 

Table  52  shows  Boise's  position  among  the  26  cities  when 
so  compared. 

Owing  to  Boise's  extremely  low  percentage  of  children 
5  to  19  years  old,  the  city  holds  a  more  favorable  place  in 
this  table.  The  range  is  from  $8.2 7  to  $44-35-  Boise  spends 
$24.47.    The  average  for  the  26  cities  is  $21.91,  and  the 


266 


The  Boise  Survey 


TABLE  52 

Cost  of  Schools  per  Person  $  to  19  Years  Old.*     (This  is  Approxi- 
mately THE  Cost  per  Census  Child.)  (Computed  from  Tables  4  and  51) 


City 


Cost 


1.  Brookline,  Mass.  .   .   . 

2.  Stockton,  Calif.    .   .   . 

3.  Elmira,  N.  Y 

4.  Everett,  Wash.     .   .   . 

5.  Madison,  Wis 

6.  Colorado  Springs,  Colo 

7.  Stamford,  Conn.  .   .   . 

8.  BOISE,  IDAHO.   .   . 

9.  Orange,  N.  J 

10.  Tulsa,  Okla 

11.  Billingham,  Wash.  .    . 

12.  Niagara  Falls,  N.  Y.    . 

13.  Jackson,  Mich.      .    .    . 

14.  Ogden,  Utah     .   .   .   . 

15.  Aurora,  111 

16.  Easton,  Pa 

17.  Charleston,  W.  Va.  .   . 

18.  Joplin,  Mo 

19.  Zanesville,  Ohio    .    .    . 

20.  Knoxville,  Tenn.  .    .    . 

21.  Austin,  Texas    .    .    .    . 

22.  Shreveport,  La.     .    .    . 

23.  Newport,  Ky 

24.  Columbus,  S.  C.    .    .    . 

25.  Wilmington,  N.  C.   .    . 

26.  Portsmouth,  Va.  .    .    . 


$44.35 
40.72 

33  82 
32.66 
31-76 
28.70 
25.8s 
24.47 
23  56 
23.52 
23  30 
23.27 
23.16 
21.84 
20.27 
19.56 
18.82 
16.9s 
15.86 
15.44 
14-74 
II. II 
II. 01 
8.55 
8.31 
8.27 


Average,  26  cities,  21.91 


Median,  26  cities,  22.50 


median  is  $22.50.  This  slight  advantage,  however,  cannot 
be  interpreted  to  mean  that  Boise  is  making  relatively  large 
expenditures  for  schools.  Being  fourth  from  lowest  in  point 
of  numbers  to  provide  for,  the  city  should  hold  the  fourth 

1  Only  3  of  the  26  cities  have  a  lower  percentage  of  children  5  to  19 
years  old  than  has  Boise.    See  Table  53  and  the  comments  following. 


Costs  and  Business  Management 


267 


TABLE  53 

Cost  of  Schools  per  Child  in  Average  Daily  Attendance  (Computed 
FROM  Statistics  in  the  Report  of  the  United  States  Commissioner 
OF  Education  for  191 7,  Vol.  II) 


City 

Cost 

1.  Brookline,  Mass 

2.  Stockton,  Calif 

$76 
61 

3.  BOISE,  IDAHO 

4.  Colorado  Springs,  Colo 

5.  Bellingham,  Wash 

6.  Everett,  Wash 

58 

57 
54 
SI 
49 
48 
48 

45 
40 

39 
37 
37 
37 
35 
31 
30 
30 
29 
24 
22 

7.  Madison,  Wis 

8.  Aurora,  111 

9.  Ehnira,  N.  Y 

10.  Stamford,  Conn 

11.  Niagara  Falls,  N.  Y 

12.  Jackson,  Mich 

13.  Easton,  Pa 

14.  Tulsa,  Okla 

15.  Zanesville,  Ohio 

16.  Ogden,  Utah 

17.  Chariotte,  N.  C 

18.  Knoxville,  Tenn 

19.  Newport,  Ky 

20.  Austin,  Texas 

21.  Joplin,  Mo 

22.  Shreveport,  La 

23.  Columbia,  S.  C 

21 

24.  Portsmouth,  Va 

25.  Wilmington,  N.  C 

26.  Orange.  N.  T 

21 
No  data 
No  data 

Average,  24  cities,  40 


Median,  24  cities,  38 


place  from  the  top  in  this  table,  whereas  it  is  No.  8  instead, 
which  must  be  regarded  as  relatively  low. 

J.    Cost  per  Child  in  Average  Daily  Attendance 

From  the  standpoint  of  average  daily  attendance,  Boise^s 
position  among  these  cities  for  the  year  191 6  was  subs  tan- 


268  The  Boise  Survey 

tially  what  it  should  have  been.    From  Table  53  it  wDl  be 
seen  that  Boise  holds  third  place  in  the  list. 

The  range  in  expenditure  per  pupil  in  average  daily  at- 
tendance for  these  26  cities  is  from  $21  to  $76.  Boise  spent 
$58,  ranking  among  the  more  progressive  cities.  In  view 
of  her  relatively  low  number  of  school  children,  this  really 
places  Boise  as  an  average  city,  or  very  slightly  above  the 
average,  and  not  as  one  of  the  leading  cities. 

4,    Amount  of  Wealth  behind  Each  Dollar 
Spent  on  Education 

Another  view  of  Boise's  position  among  these  cities  is 
seen  in  Table  54,  where  the  cost  of  maintaining  schools  is 
stated  in  terms  of  the  city's  wealth. 

From  this  table  we  see  that  for  every  dollar  spent  on  edu- 
cation, Boise  possesses  $160  of  wealth.  Columbia,  S.  C,  has 
$723  for  each  dollar  it  spends  on  schools,  while  Elmira, 
N.  Y.,  has  but  $102.  The  average  for  the  26  cities  is  $252, 
and  the  median  is  $2 1 2 . 

When  judged  by  what  other  cities  are  doing,  this  table 
argues  that  the  wealth  of  Boise  is  bearing  somewhat  more 
than  an  average  burden  for  its  schools.  It  must  be  remem- 
bered, however,  that  there  are  a  number  of  wealthy  eastern 
cities  included  in  this  table  with  which.  Boise  could  scarcely 
expect  to  compete.  Attention  also  is  called  to  the  fact  that 
in  this  table  only  one  of  the  western  cities,  Stockton,  ranks 
above  Boise.  Finally,  by  Table  8,  we  are  again  reminded 
that  Boise's  tax  rate  is  below  rather  than  above  the  average. 

5.    Cost  of  Education  per  Capita  of  Young  Adults 

The  meaning  of  Table  54  is  further  modified  when  we 
consider  Boise's  expenditures  in  terms  of  her  man  power  to 
produce  wealth.  Table  4  shows  that  Boise  ranks  high  in 
adults  20  to  44  years  old,  and  this  must  be  recognized  as 
an  asset  to  the  city.  Table  55  shows  that  Boise  spends  on 
her  schools  less  per  young  adult  than  is  spent  by  the  average 
of  cities  in  her  class. 


Costs  and  Business  Management 


269 


TABLE  54 

Showing  the  Amount  of  Real  Wealth  behind  Each  Dollar  Spent 
FOR  the  Maintenance  of  Schools 


City 


1.  Columbia,  S.  C.  .    .    . 

2.  Shreveport,  La.  .    .    . 

3.  Wilmington,  N.  C.     . 

4.  Brookline,  Mass.     .    . 

5.  Charleston,  W.  Va.    . 

6.  Portsmouth,  Va..    .    . 

7.  Stockton,  Calif.  ,    .    . 

8.  Zanesville,  Ohio  .    .    . 

9.  Madison,  Wis.     .    .    . 

10.  Aurora,  111 

11.  Newport,  Ky.     .    ,    . 

12.  Easton,  Pa 

13.  Austin,  Texas  .... 

14.  Knoxville,  Tenn.    .    . 

15.  Niagara  Falls,  N.  Y.  . 

16.  Jackson,  Mich.    .    .    . 

17.  Joplin,  Mo 

18.  Stamford,  Conn..    .    . 

19.  Tulsa,  Okla 

20.  BOISE,  roAHO  .   . 

21.  Ogden,  Utah  .... 

22.  Colorado  Springs,  Colo 

23.  Bellingham,  Wash. .    . 

24.  Everett,  Wash.   .    .    . 

25.  Orange,  N.  J 

26.  Elmira,  N.  Y.      ... 


Amount 


$723 
548 
471 
437 
343 
297 
282 
258 
250 

233 
222 
219 
212 
212 
201 
200 
177 
170 
161 
160 
159 
156 
13s 
127 
107 
102 


Average,  26  cities,  252 


Median,  26  cities,  212 


After  careful  study  of  the  facts  touching: 

1.  Cost  per  capita  of  entire  population  (Table  51), 

2.  Cost  per  person  5  to  19  years  old  in  the  city  (Table 
52), 

3.  Cost  per  child  in  average  daily  attendance  (Table  53), 


2  70 


The  Boise  Survey 


TABLE  55 

Amount  Spent  on  Education  for  Each  Person  in  the  City  Who 

Is  20  to  44  Years  Old  (Computed  from  Tables  4  and  54) 


City 

Amount 

I.   Elmira,  N.  Y 

$18.81 

2    Stockton,  Calif. 

18  81 

3.  Brookline,  Mass 

18  28 

4.  Madison,  Wis 

16.46 
16.00 

5.  Stamford,  Conn 

6.  Colorado  Springs,  Colo 

7.  Orange,  N.  J 

8    Ogden,  Utah     .... 

15 -66 

15-37 
14.80 
12.65 
12.56 
12.04 

"•73 
11.72 
11.69 
10.74 
10.61 

9.  Tulsa,  Okla 

10.  Bellingham,  Wash 

II    Aurora,  111. 

12.  Jackson,  Mich 

13.  Niagara  Falls,  N.  Y 

lA    £Eston  Pa 

K.   ToDlin  Mo 

16.  Austin,  Texas 

17.  BOISE,  IDAHO 

18    Everett  Wash.             

10.61 

10 -33 
9-54 
8.96 

8.54 
6.86 

19.  Knoxville,  Tenn 

20.  Zanesville,  Ohio 

21.  Charieston,  W.  Va 

22.  Newport,  Ky 

2X.  ShrevcDort  La.         

6.43 
5-48 
S17 
4  94 

24.  Wilmington,  N.  C 

25.   Columbia,  S.  C 

26.  Portsmouth,  Va 

Average,  26  cities,  11. 31 


Median,  26  cities,  11.70 


4.  Amount  of  real  wealth  back  of  each  dollar  spent  for 
schools  (Table  54), 

5.  Cost  per  young  adult  (20  to  44  years  old)  (Table  55), 
the  writer  is  convinced  that  Boise  could  immediately  in- 
crease her  educational  budget  by  enough  to  carry  out  the 


Costs  and  Business  Management  271 

principal  recommendations  of  this  report  and  still  have  a 
tax  rate  below  that  of  the  leading  cities  of  the  group  studied. 
The  highest  tax  rate  ($25.30  per  $1000)  of  the  26  cities  is 
borne  by  Everett,  Washington,  the  lowest  ($10.46)  by 
Columbia,  South  Carolina.  Boise  ranks  14th  in  the  list,  with 
a  rate  of  $18.04.  The  difference  between  a  rate  of  $18.04 
and  $25.30  for  Boise  is  the  difference  between  a  mediocre 
school  system  on  the  one  hand  and  a  high-class  modern 
system  on  the  other.  Boise  should  be  in  the  lead,  not  only 
for  her  own  sake,  but  because  of  the  wide  influence  her 
leadership  would  exert  over  the  whole  Northwest.  The 
taxpayer  of  Boise  must  see  that  to  exercise  such  leadership 
will  in  the  long  run  bring  large  returns  to  the  city  aside  from 
the  immediate  value  of  good  schools,  to  which  the  people 
of  Boise  are  justly  entitled. 

HOW  Boise's  school  expenditures  are  distributed 

I.    Distribution  of  a  Decade  of  Boise's  School 
Expenditures 

In  Figure  3  was  shown  how  Boise  spends  each  dollar  of 
her  income.  In  Table  9  it  was  noted  that  Boise  devotes  a 
relatively  large  portion  of  that  dollar  to  the  maintenance  of 
schools.  Our  question  here  is:  Does  Boise  spend  her  school 
money  wisely? 

Table  56  shows  the  distribution  of  Boise^s  school  expendi- 
tures for  the  past  ten  years. 

There  are  several  points  of  interest  about  these  figures. 
The  cost  of  general  control  has  not  increased  very  greatly; 
the  cost  of  instruction  increased  rapidly  for  a  few  years  and 
then  remained  stationary  even  through  the  war  years;  the 
cost  of  operation  has  about  doubled,  the  effects  of  the  war 
being  evident;  the  increase  in  cost  of  maintenance  has  been 
steady  but  more  rapid  than  that  for  operation;  the  expendi- 
tures for  "outla)^"  (buildings  and  grounds)  have  been  ir- 
regular and  roughly  on  the  decline;  and  the  total  costs  have 
grown  rather  slowly.  Figure  38  makes  the  more  important 
of  these  facts  and  tendencies  clear. 


272 


The  Boise  Survey 


TABLE  56 

Showing  a  Decade  op  the  Distribution  of  Boise's  School  Expendi- 
tures (Compiled  from  Annual  Reports  of  the  Clerk  of  the  Board 
of  Education) 

Note:  Several  of  the  lesser  expenditures  have  been  grouped  differently  from 
year  to  year,  which  would  modify  this  table  in  some  details. 


Year 

II 

1 
1 

1 

<< 

1  g 

Outlays,  Ac- 
quisitions, and 
Construction 

2 

s 

II 

Total 

1910 

7,154 

82,962 

15,262 

2,925 

238 

252 

57,729 

12,896 

179,421 

1911 

8,708 

109,402 

19,369 

4,167 

III 

612 

57,841 

13,387 

213,600 

1912 

8,651 

131,245 

16,301 

5,958 

2,189 

475 

41,573 

18,885 

225,282 

1913 

10,024 

138,654 

16,516 

4,606 

3,876 

526 

80,721 

27,152 

282,116 

1914 

8,140 

145,656 

16,849 

5,267 

1,725 

205 

40,590 

24,007 

242,443 

191S 

7,731 

142,561 

19,882 

7,524 

5,522 

509 

3,066 

27,514 

214,313 

1916 

7,483 

144,408 

18,002 

8,587 

89 

50 

3,101 

26,273 

209,540 

1917 

7,863 

142,248 

26,599 

9,440 

SI3 



11,383 

31,177 

229,226 

1918 

9,306 

144,245 

30,480 

18,620 

1,031 

1149 

18,784 

20,539 

250,847 

1919 

11,002 

149,028 

26,663 

13,100 

2,406 

1795 

6,723 

22,529 

233,201 

As  has  been  shown  in  this  report,  the  upward  tendency  of 
the  curve  representing  outlays  is  inevitable.  The  real  sur- 
prise of  the  figure  is  that  the  instruction  curve  does  not  rise 
noticeably  after  19 14.  In  the  light  of  increase  in  population 
and  wealth,  this  is  not  as  it  should  be. 

2,    Division  of  Cost  between  Elementary  and 
High  Schools 

As  yet,  little  theorizing  has  been  done  on  the  relative  em- 
phasis which  a  democracy  should  place  upon  secondary 


Costs  and  Business  Management 


273 


dPO 

k 

Z7S 
250 
225 
200 
775 
1^0 
/25 

too 

15 
SO 
25 


^^^0     Idil        1912      1913      1914      1915      I9J6       1917      1918      1919 

Fig.  38.    A  Decade  of  Boise's  Expenditures  for  Schools,  together 
WITH  THE  Three  Principal  Items  of  the  Education  Budget 

education.  The  high  school  has  fought  its  way  into  the 
public  school  system,  and  now  its  rights  to  expand  are  rarely 
questioned.  In  fact,  the  high  school  has  become  so  popular 
in  some  states  that  there  is  some  question  as  to  whether  it 
is  not  getting  the  lion's  share  of  the  school  money. 

Figure  39  shows  what  per  cent  of  total  school  expend!- 


V 

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\ 

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N 

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^ 

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f 

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—.—  --' 

^-'•' 

^^^ 

274 


The  Boise  Survey 


PCRCeNT 

1.  eveRtrr.w/uH. 

2.  Ma  Dl SON,  WIS 

3.  BELLI  NenaM.wasH. 

4.  COLORaOO  SPRGS^COLO. 

5.  AUROR/J.  ILL 
0.  LORaiN,  OHIO 

Z  STOCKTON.  CAUT. 
8.  BOkSE,  ID/JHO 

a  Ni/KAna  FfiLL'i^NM 
la  BROOKUNE.  Mass. 

a  KNOXVILLE,  TCNN. 

tz  waco.  Texas 

13  WHCrUNG.  WEST  \M, 

lAEfiSTON.Pa 

ISELMIRA.N.Y. 

f&  oeoEN.  uTan 

17.  COLUMBIA.  S.C 
Id.  TUL3A.  OK  LP. 
IS.CHaRLOTTC.NC. 
2aSTAMFORO,  CONN. 
21.  NEWPORT,  KY. 
22.SHREVCPORT.  La. 
ZSjJOCKSON.  MICK. 
24  WESTHOBOKEN,  N  J. 
2S.P0RTS MOUTH,  Va. 
iJSJOPLIN,  Ma 

P£ff  CENT 


SO 


so     ep     10     eo 


Fig.  39.  Showing  the  Per  Cent  of  Total  School  Expenditures  Devoted 
TO  Maintenance  of  the  High  School  as  Compared  with  the  Per 
Cent  of  Total  School  Attendance  at  the  High  School 

Heavy  line  indicates  expenditures;  lighter  line,  attendance. 

tures  went  for  high  schools  in  26  cities  in  191 5-1 6.  It  also 
shows  what  per  cent  of  the  total  number  of  pupils  in  average 
daily  attendance  were  in  attendance  at  high  schools.  Joplin, 
Missouri,  put  14  per  cent  of  its  total  school  expenditures 
into  high  schools,  while  for  Everett,  Washington,  the  same 
figure  was  33  per  cent.  Boise  stands  eighth  from  the 
highest,  devoting  24  per  cent  of  all  school  expenditures  to 
her  high  school.  The  average  for  the  26  cities  is  21.9  per 
cent,  and  the  median  is  20.5  per  cent.  Boise  stands  rela- 
tively high,  therefore,  in  the  per  cent  of  her  school  money 
devoted  to  high  school  purposes. 

An  examination  of  the  second  item  in  the  figure,  however, 
shows  that  there  is  good  reason  for  this  wide  variability  in 


Costs  and  Business  Management  275 

the  per  cent  of  total  cost  devoted  to  high  schools.  But  6 
per  cent  of  the  school  population  of  West  Hoboken,  New 
Jersey,  went  to  high  school  in  191 6,  while  in  Boise  26  per 
cent  went  to  high  school.  In  no  other  city  of  the  group  was 
the  attendance  at  high  school  so  large  a  percentage  of  the 
total  average  attendance  for  all  schools  as  at  Boise.  This  is  a 
record  of  which  Boise  may  justly  be  proud,  and  one  which 
this  report  must  present  as  substantial  evidence  of  the  need 
of  a  junior  college  for  the  district. 

If  average  daily  attendance  is  used  as  a  basis  for  deter^ 
mining  what  portion  of  school  expenditures  should  be  de- 
voted to  high  school  support,  then  a  comparison  of  the  two 
bars  for  each  city  in  Figure  39  is  of  interest.  When  this 
figure  is  so  studied,  it  becomes  evident  that  in  practice  there 
is  little  relation  between  the  portion  of  total  funds  and  the 
portion  of  total  attendance  that  go  to  the  high  school.  The 
figure  representing  the  per  cent  of  cost  is,  in  every  case  but 
two,  larger  than  that  representing  attendance,  and  those  two 
are  Elmira,  New  York,  and  Boise,  in  both  of  which  cases 
the  difference  is  but  2  per  cent.  In  the  other  cities,  the 
per  cent  of  total  expenditures  devoted  to  high  school  is  from 
2  to  13  per  cent  higher  than  is  the  per  cent  of  total  school 
population  which  goes  to  high  school.  There  is  therefore 
but  one  other  city  in  the  list  which  devotes  a  relatively  lower 
proportion  of  the  total  school  budget  to  the  high  school  than 
does  Boise.  Stated  another  way,  Boise  gives  her  elementary 
schools  as  large  a  portion  of  the  school  budget  as  is  given 
by  any  city  in  the  list,  and  far  larger  than  most. 

Without  attempting  to  say  just  what  relation  there  should 
be  between  attendance  and  cost,i  as  shown  in  Figure  39,  it 
will  be  noticed  that  Boise  occupies  an  extreme  position 
among  the  26  cities,  and  one  that  is  favorable  to  the  ele- 
mentary schools  of  the  city.  It  is  the  judgment  of  the  survey 
staff,  based  upon  a  study  of  the  schools,  apart  from  costs, 

1  There  are  good  reasons  why  high  school  education  should  cost  more 
per  pupil  in  average  attendance  than  is  needed  for  elementary  schools,  as 
salaries,  laboratory  equipment,  etc. 


276  The  Boise  Survey 

that  the  elementary  schools  are  at  present  more  in  need  of 
funds  than  is  the  high  school.  In  view  of  the  experience  of 
other  cities,  and  also  of  the  popularity  of  the  high  school, 
Boise  would  be  warranted  in  a  somewhat  more  liberal  use 
of  funds  for  high  school  work,  though  the  present  distribu- 
tion is  not  to  be  criticized. 


J.    Per  Cent  of  Total  Expenditures  Devoted  to 
Payment  for  Instruction 

The  extent  to  which  a  school  system  keeps  down  its  over- 
head costs  is  to  some  extent  a  measure  of  the  efficiency  of 
the  system.  The  lower  the  overhead  costs,  the  higher  will 
be  the  amount  left  to  pay  for  instruction.  Table  57  shows 
for  23  cities  what  part  of  their  total  school  expenditures 
goes  to  pay  for  instruction.  In  this  table  Boise  occupies 
seventh  place. 

One  city  devotes  as  low  as  59  per  cent  of  its  total  expendi- 
tures to  the  payment  for  instruction,  while  in  another  city 
this  figure  is  83  per  cent.  In  Boise  74  per  cent  of  all  costs 
are  for  instruction.  Since  the  average  for  all  the  cities  in 
the  United  States  of  this  population  group  is  72  per  cent 
and  the  average  and  median  for  this  group  is  70  per  cent, 
Boise  seems  to  be  keeping  overhead  costs  well  in  hand. 


THE    BUSINESS    MANAGEMENT    OF    BGISE^S    SCHOOLS 

J.     The  Size  of  the  Task 

The  Board  of  Education  in  Boise  now  has  eleven  buildings 
to  care  for  and  operate ;  it  must  purchase  supplies  and  equip- 
ment  for  the  schools;  it  must  receive,  store,  and  distribute 
its  supplies  and  equipment  as  needed;  it  must  finance  the 
project;  and  it  must  keep  track  of  its  accounts.  All  together 
this  means  the  expenditure  of  a  quarter  of  a  million  dollars 
yearly,  which,  from  the  standpoint  of  business,  is  no  small 
enterprise. 


Costs  and  Business  Management 


277 


TABLE  57 
Per  Cent  of  Total  School  Expenditures  Used  to  Pay  for  Instruction 


City 


1.  Austin,  Texas 

2.  Ogden,  Utah 

3.  Portsmouth,  Va 

4.  Newport,  Ky 

5.  Knoxville,  Tenn 

6.  Niagara  Falls,  N.  Y 

7.  BOISE,  IDAHO 

8.  Shreveport,  La 

9.  Jackson,  Mich 

10.  Madison,  Wis 

11.  Columbia,  S.  C 

12.  Stamford,  Conn 

13.  Colorado  Springs,  Colo 

14.  Aurora,  111 

15.  Bellingham,  Wash 

16.  Joplin,  Mo 

17.  Stockton,  Calif 

18.  Tulsa,  OMa 

19.  Everett,  Wash 

20.  Ehnira,  N.  Y 

21.  Brookline,  Mass 

22.  Easton,  Penn 

23.  Zanesville,  Ohio 

24.  Average  for  all  cities  in  U.  S.  of 

25,000  to  100,000  population  is  . 


Per  Cent 


83 
79 
79 
78 
77 
77 
74 
73 
71 
71 
70 
70 
68 
67 
67 
67 
66 
66 
65 
63 
61 
60 
59 

72 


Average,  23  cities,  70  Median,  23  cities,  70 

2.    How  the  Business  is  Handled 

The  machinery  for  carrying  on  this  business  is  partially 
shown,  in  Figure  6,  to  consist  of  the  Board  of  Trustees,  the 
board's  committee  on  finance,  a  treasurer,  and  the  clerk  of 
the  board.  The  clerk  acts  as  bookkeeper  and  purchasing 
agent  and  has  charge  of  storage  and  distribution  of  supplies. 
Purchases  are  made  only  upon  requisitions  signed  by  the 


2  78  The  Boise  Survey 

superintendent  of  schools,  and  are  carefully  accounted  for 
at  each  stage  in  the  process  of  purchase,  receipt,  storage, 
and  distribution.  The  plans  for  handling  all  the  necessary 
accounts  are  relatively  new,  but  when  fully  operating  as 
planned  for  by  the  present  clerk  of  the  board,  the  school 
system  will  have  a  thorough  system  of  checks  on  all  expendi- 
tures. 

In  this  connection  it  is  recommended  that  the  clerk  of  the 
board  be  given  a  title  that  more  nearly  describes  his  actual 
functions,  or  the  functions  suggested  by  Figure  17.  "Clerk 
of  the  Board  and  Purchasing  Agent"  would  accomplish  this 
end.  To  this  office,  then,  should  be  definitely  delegated  the 
necessary  authority,  not  to  determine  what  to  purchase,  but 
to  purchase,  and  to  manage  the  receipt,  storage,  and  distribu- 
tion of  materials.  This  would  do  away  with  an  annoying 
tendency  on  the  part  of  some  to  neglect  to  account  for  things 
used.  In  granting  this  added  authority  it  should  be  made 
clear  that  all  these  duties  are  to  be  performed  under  the 
directions  of  the  superintendent  of  schools.  It  is  largely 
because  of  the  harmonious  relationship  between  the  present 
superintendent  and  clerk  rather  than  by  delegated  power 
that  the  clerk  is  able  to  handle  the  work  so  efficiently  at 
present.  A  change  in  either  office  might  alter  the  situation 
for  the  worse.  Figure  7  presents  this  plan.  Very  shortly  a 
bookkeeper  and  supply  clerk  will  be  needed  in  this  depart- 
ment. 

The  present  storage  facilities  are  entirely  inadequate  and 
unsatisfactory.  They  enforce  delays,  they  are  not  very  se- 
cure against  theft,  and  they  are  not  sanitary.  Many  school 
supplies,  as  books  and  paper,  should  be  kept  free  from  dust. 

J.    Bookkeeping  and  Cost  Accounting 

Boise's  system  of  accounts  conforms  reasonably  closely 
to  the  plan  recommended  by  the  United  States  Commissioner 
of  Education,  the  N.  E.  A.,  and  the  Association  of  Public 
School  Accountants.     The  classification  of  items  is  suffi- 


Costs  and  Business  Management  279 

ciently  detailed  so  that  there  is  little  chance  of  charging  an 
item  to  the  wrong  account  or  of  covering  up  large  expendi- 
tures under  such  titles  as  "Other  Things,"  "Miscellaneous," 
etc.  The  filing  system  in  use  is  simple  and  workable,  and 
the  books  are  being  kept  in  good  form.  Any  citizen  of  Boise 
could  easily  see  what  is  being  done  with  every  single  cent 
of  the  school  money;  he  could  see  vouchers  for  every  cent, 
and  the  financial  condition  of  the  schools  on  any  day. 

There  is  one  kind  of  cost  accounting,  however,  that  needs 
expansion  in  Boise.  That  is  the  statement  of  costs  in  terms 
of  some  workable  unit.  It  is  necessary  to  know  what  results 
various  kinds  of  service  are  producing  under  different  con- 
ditions, etc.,  in  order  to  locate  sources  of  waste  and  economi- 
cal methods  of  operation.  One  school  may  be  using  paper 
at  a  cost  of  several  cents  per  child  per  month  more  than  is 
common  in  other  schools  fully  comparable.  By  wrong  edu- 
cational methods  one  school  may  be  spending  twice  as  much 
as  another  for  results  in  spelling  or  arithmetic  or  writing 
which  are  no  better.  Poor  teaching  often  costs  more  than 
good  teaching,  though  we  pay  less.  When  schools  have 
introduced  adequate  financial  as  well  as  pedagogical  methods 
of  accounting,  so  that  we  may  compare  cities,  schools,  and 
departments  with  respect  to  janitor  service,  use  of  supplies, 
time  and  money  cost  of  instruction,  supervision,  etc.,  then 
and  then  only  can  we  expect  efficient  service.  A  superin- 
tendent should  be  able  to  tell  his  board  what  it  has  cost  per 
pupil  to  run  each  course  offered  by  the  schools.  Doubtless 
this  method  is  used  more  or  less  in  informal  reports,  but  we 
recommend  that  such  a  plan  be  worked  out  and  made  part 
of  the  permanent  records  in  order  that  each  year  these  costs 
may  be  compared  with  similar  costs  of  previous  years. 

4.    Need  for  a  Budget  System 

Boise  does  not  budget  its  school  funds.  There  is  every 
reason  why  a  school  system  should  keep  pace  with  modern 
methods  in  public  finance.  The  budget  method  of  handling 
state  expenditures  has  been  adopted  by  proper  legislative 


28o  The  Boise  Survey 

enactment  in  most  of  our  states,  very  recently  including 
Idaho,  and  many  cities  use  budgetary  procedure  in  mu- 
nicipal and  school  affairs.  The  method  is  not  very  old,  but 
its  merits  for  economy  and  wise  use  of  money  are  well  un- 
derstood. With  a  budget,  costs  cannot  easily  become  one- 
sided. Each  expenditure  is  carefully  decided  upon  at  a  time 
when  the  needs  for  every  other  expenditure  are  being  studied. 

To  budget  the  year's  money  is  practically  to  write  out  in 
full  the  board's  school  policy.  That  is  precisely  what  any 
other  method  of  finance  does  not  do.  In  fact,  the  old  way 
of  "pay  debts  as  they  come"  discourages  the  making  of  a 
policy  and  so  makes  administration  difficult.  When  a  board 
has  written  its  budget  in  the  summer  months,  it  has  made 
it  possible  for  the  superintendent  to  work  out  full  plans 
ahead  of  time. 

When  a  budget  is  made  it  is  assumed,  even  if  not  stated, 
that  the  superintendent  is  authorized  without  consulting  the 
board  or  any  committee  to  use  the  funds  as  budgeted.  If 
he  wishes  he  may  have  the  purchasing  agent  buy  in  large 
lots  and  in  advance,  and  so  effect  a  saving.  At  present  this 
is  rarely  done  in  Boise.  The  bad  system  of  "buy  it  in  our 
town"  is  still  too  carefully  followed.  Local  merchants 
should  not  seek  alms  at  the  schoolhouse  door.  There  are  a 
few  "little"  merchants  of  this  "pauper"  variety  in  every 
city,  and  the  taxpayer  ought  to  deal  with  them  justly. 

The  making  of  the  budget  should  be  the  one  large,  serious, 
and  constructive  piece  of  work  which  a  board  of  education 
does.  The  work  should  be  done  as  a  single  task,  by  the 
entire  board.  It  should  be  based  on  estimates  made  by  the 
superintendent  and  his  staff,  together  with  full  inventories 
of  supplies  on  hand  and  total  and  unit  statements  of  all 
expenditures  for  previous  years. 

With  a  budget  system  and  a  proper  annual  audit  by  a 
certified  accountant,  the  need  for  a  permanent  finance  com- 
mittee disappears.  The  use  of  budgetary  procedure  and  the 
doing  away  with  the  present  committee  on  finance  are 
strongly  recommended. 


Costs  and  Business  Management  281 

SUMMARY   AND   RECOMMENDATIONS 

The  main  questions  which  this  chapter  tries  to  answer 
are: 

Does  the  Boise  Independent  School  District  spend  as 
much  money  for  the  maintenance  of  schools  as  it  is  able  to 
spend? 

Does  the  district  make  a  wise  apportionment  of  that 
money  to  the  various  school  needs? 

Is  the  business  management  of  the  schools  satisfactory? 

In  answering  the  first  of  these  questions  Boise's  expendi- 
tures have  been  compared  with  those  of  a  group  of  cities  of 
approximately  the  same  population  as  Boise  and  in  the  fol- 
lowing particulars: 

1.  The  per  capita  expenditure  for  all  educational  ac- 
tivities. 

2.  The  expenditure  per  person  5  to  19  years  old. 

3.  The  expenditure  per  pupil  in  average  daily  attendance. 

4.  The  amount  of  wealth  back  of  each  dollar  spent  for 
school  maintenance. 

5.  The  expenditure  per  young  adult  (ages  20  to  44). 

In  answering  the  second  question,  similar  comparisons 
were  made  with  respect  to: 

1.  The  division  of  expenditures  between  elementary  and 
high  schools. 

2.  The  per  cent  of  total  expenditures  devoted  to  the  pay- 
ment for  instruction. 

Boise's  per  capita  expenditure  for  schools  is  approxi- 
mately the  average  expenditure  of  the  26  cities  studied. 

Boise's  expenditure  per  person  5  to  19  years  old  is  very 
slightly  above  both  the  average  and  the  median  for  the  26 
cities. 

Boise's  expenditure  per  pupil  in  average  daily  attendance 
is  well  above  the  average  and  the  median  of  26  cities. 

Boise  possesses  less  wealth  per  dollar  spent  on  education 
than  either  the  average  or  median  of  26  cities. 

Boise's  expenditure  per  young  adult  is  less  than  either  the 
average  or  the  median  for  26  cities. 


282  The  Boise  Survey 

Boise's  division  of  expenditures  between  elementary  and 
high  schools  is  less  favorable  to  the  high  school  and  more 
favorable  to  the  elementary  schools  than  is  true  of  any 
other  city  among  the  26  studied. 

Boise  spends  a  larger  proportion  of  her  school  money  for 
the  payment  of  instruction  ±an  is  true  of  the  average  or  of 
the  median  city  of  the  23  studied  or  of  the  entire  group  of 
cities  in  the  United  States  of  25,000  to  100,000  population. 

In  addition  to  these  facts,  an  analysis  of  ten  years  of 
Boise's  school  expenditures  shows  very  slight  increases  in 
spite  of  the  rapid  increase  in  the  city's  population  and  wealth 
and  the  more  recent  high  costs. 

The  arguments  of  these  facts,  together  with  those  brought 
out  in  other  parts  of  this  report,  are,  in  the  judgment  of  the 
survey  staff,  unanswerable  in  their  claims  for  a  larger  ex- 
penditure for  schools  in  Boise.  Boise  is  not  at  the  foot  of 
the  list  of  cities  of  her  class  in  school  expenditures;  but  she 
is  far  from  being  in  the  lead  of  those  cities,  and  at  most 
points  Boise  is  no  better  than  average  or  below  average.  A 
slight  increase  in  tax  rate  would  give  to  the  schools  the 
money  they  need  to  get  out  of  the  "average"  and  into  the 
"modern"  group  of  city  school  systems. 

In  business  management  Boise's  greatest  need  is  for  the 
adoption  of  a  budget  system,  accompanied  by  a  more  de- 
tailed system  of  accounting.  A  careful  plan  of  records  show- 
ing unit  costs  is  highly  desirable  and  almost  a  necessity  in 
working  out  a  budget. 

To  carry  on  the  business  of  the  schools  satisfactorily,  the 
clerk  of  the  board  should  have  added  to  his  ordinary  duties 
as  clerk  those  of  purchasing  agent,  and  he  should  be  fur- 
nished with  proper  distributing  and  storage  facilities,  as  well 
as  the  necessary  clerical  assistance. 

With  these  changes,  all  of  which  are  believed  to  be  thor- 
oughly feasible,  Boise  would  have  a  modern  system  of 
business  management. 


CHAPTER  XIII 

SUMMARY   AND   RECOMMENDATIONS 

(Sears) 

THE  following  is  a  brief  statement  of  the  more  important 
criticisms  and  recommendations  presented  in  this  sur- 
vey: 

1.  From  the  standpoint  of  maintaining  a  school  system 
Boise  is  favorably  situated  in  respect  to  its  political  and 
geographical  location,  the  composition  and  age  distribution 
of  its  population,  the  low  cost  of  its  government,  its  present 
low  tax  rate,  its  prospect  for  rapid  growth  and  increase  of 
wealth,  and  the  generally  high  intellectual  level  of  the  popu- 
lation. 

2.  Because  of  its  location  and  prestige  Boise  is  responsible 
for  exercising  large  educational  leadership  in  the  Northwest 
and  so  should  be  satisfied  with  nothing  short  of  the  very 
best  in  education.  Boise  should  be  the  educational  experi- 
ment station  for  a  territory  much  larger  than  the  state. 

3.  The  administrative  machinery  of  the  city's  schools  is 
working  harmoniously,  but  with  only  fair  economy,  and 
needs  revision  in  the  following  particulars: 

(a)  The  board  should  do  away  with  its  standing 
committees  and  operate  as  a  board  only. 

(b)  The  superintendent  should  be  relieved  of  much 
of  his  present  responsibility  for  the  supervision  of  in- 
struction. 

(c)  Teaching  principalships  should,  in  principle  and 
to  a  large  extent  in  practice,  be  done  away  with  and 
supervising  principalships  established. 

(d)  The  management  of  attendance  should  be  in  the 
hands  of  school  and  not  juvenile  court  machinery. 

(e)  The  present  school  nurse  should  be  made  su- 

283 


284  The  Boise  Survey 

pervisor  of  health  and  attendance  and  be  given  at  least 
one  assistant  to  serve  mainly  as  home  visitor  and  at- 
tendance officer. 

(/)  The  present  clerk  of  the  board  should  be  made 
purchasing  agent  and  in  that  capacity  be  a  member  of 
the  superintendent's  staff. 

{g)  The  present  building  inspector  should  be  made 
superintendent  of  buildings  and  grounds  having  gen- 
eral oversight  of  cleaning  and  repairing  buildings  and 
should  be  a  regular  member  of  the  superintendent's 
staff.  Janitors  should  be  under  the  direct  charge  of 
school  principals. 

4.  The  extent  of  the  present  teaching  staff  is  inadequate 
for  any  except  a  formal  curriculum  and  should  be  supple- 
mented by  five  or  six  supervising  principals,  three  or  four 
teachers  for  ungraded  rooms,  and  several  supervisors  of 
special  subjects  such  as  play  and  physical  education,  do- 
mestic science,  etc. 

5.  Boise  is  paying  its  teachers  something  like  average 
salaries,  but  in  view  of  the  high  class  of  service  which  the 
city  expects  and  in  view  of  present  money  values  these 
salaries  are  still  too  low. 

6.  Boise's  high  school  course  of  study  is  in  the  main  ex- 
cellent and  the  outlines  now  in  preparation  should  be 
printed.  More  laboratory  work  in  the  social  science  courses, 
better  coordination  of  commercial  work  with  other  lines  of 
work,  better  facilities  for  evening  and  continuation  courses, 
and  a  more  liberal  offering  in  art  expression  and  music  are 
strongly  recommended. 

7.  The  elementary  courses  are  in  need  of  a  thorough  re- 
vision. Many  of  the  courses  contain  excellent  materials, 
but  the  courses  need  to  be  balanced  up. 

8.  To  bring  about  the  desirable  changes  in  Boise's  cur- 
riculum, a  junior  high  school  organization  should  be  effected 
at  an  early  date,  after  which  several  prevocational  courses 
should  be  offered. 

9.  Supervision  of  instruction,  of  health  and  physical  de- 


Summary  and  Recommendations  285 

velopment,  and  of  janitorial  service  is,  in  varying  degrees, 
inadequate. 

10.  The  efficiency  of  instruction  as  observed  and  as  in- 
dicated by  tests  is  somewhat  below  par  in  certain  particulars 
but  up  to  standard  in  others.  Children  write  rapidly  enough 
but  not  legibly  enough;  in  some  classes  they  spell  well 
enough  or  too  well,  but  in  others  they  are  weak;  in  arith- 
metic they  handle  combinations  of  whole  numbers  fairly 
well,  but  not  so  with  fractions. 

11.  There  are  now  existing  very  serious  ill-adjustments 
in  the  allotment  of  time  to  the  various  studies  in  the  ele- 
mentary schools  which  may  in  part  account  for  the  far  too 
wide  variation  in  test  results.  To  correct  this  and  to  over- 
come these  wide  variations  by  a  more  perfect  classification 
of  the  children  is  a  function  of  supervision. 

12.  The  amount  of  retardation  in  the  schools  is  not  un- 
usually large,  but  there  is  enough  to  warrant  the  recom- 
mendation that  schools  should  make  provision  for  a  number 
of  ungraded  classes.  The  results  of  the  tests  also  point 
clearly  toward  this  need,  and  unless  better  supervision  can 
be  provided  the  need  is  urgent. 

13.  Very  great  additions  to  the  present  playground  equip- 
ment are  needed.  The  schools  are  almost  without  play  ap- 
paratus, so  important  in  the  health-development  work  in  the 
schools. 

14.  One  of  the  weakest  points  in  Boise's  school  system  is 
its  buildings.  As  measured,  they  are  from  20  to  40  per  cent 
below  standard.  Though  well  located  and  provided  with 
proper  play  space,  they  are  without  play  apparatus,  they 
are  without  proper  fire  protection,  and  they  are  without 
much  needed  telephones.  They  have  few  adjustable  seats 
and  desks,  very  inadequate  and  unsanitary  toilets,  and  too 
few  drinking  fountains. 

15.  Present  articulation  between  elementary  and  high 
school  is  good,  though  by  the  organization  of  a  junior  high 
school  and  the  accompanying  enrichment  of  the  curriculum 
this  articulation  could  still  be  improved. 


286  The  Boise  Survey 

1 6.  Educational  and  vocational  guidance  in  the  schools  is 
much  neglected,  though  the  need  for  both  is  clearly  shown 
by  this  report. 

17.  A  part-time  educational  and  vocational  counselor, 
competent  to  use  mental  and  other  necessary  tests;  uniform 
blanks  for  recording  necessary  data  pertaining  to  these  prob- 
lems; the  organization  of  "life-career"  classes  and  the  de- 
velopment of  a  system  of  vocational  placement  by  which 
class  training  would  be  supplemented  are  strongly  urged  as 
important  needs  in  upper  grade  and  high  school  classes. 

18.  The  development  of  a  junior  college  is  possible  and 
altogether  desirable  as  a  culminating  feature  of  Boise's 
school  system. 

19.  Boise's  expenditures  for  the  maintenance  of  schools 
have  not  kept  pace  with  the  growth  of  the  city's  population 
and  wealth  and  are  at  present  not  above  —  in  fact,  in  some 
respects  they  are  below  —  the  average  for  cities  of  that  class 
as  measured  by  the  best  means  at  hand.  It  is  accordingly 
recommended  that  the  rate  of  tax  for  schools  be  slightly  in- 
creased in  order  that  the  most  important  of  the  needs  set 
forth  in  this  report  may  be  realized  and  thus  give  to  Boise 
the  place  of  leadership  which  the  city  of  right  ought  to 
maintain. 

20.  School  expenditures  in  Boise  are  evenly  divided  be- 
tween elementary  and  high  schools.  Considering  the  present 
efficiency  of  the  two,  this  division  should  be  maintained  for 
at  least  the  next  few  years. 

21.  It  is  recommended  that  Boise  adopt  a  budget  system 
of  finance  for  its  schools  and  put  into  use  a  more  detailed 
system  of  cost  accounting. 


INDEX 


Accelerated  pupHs,  129. 

Administration,  22;  Boise's  plan  of, 
criticized,  28,  39 ;  machinery  of,  26, 
37;  place  of  standardized  tests  in, 
84;  the  primary  function  of  the 
superintendent,  30. 

Adult  education,   10, 

Advisory  system  in  high  school,  240. 

Age-grade  distribution,  128;  stand- 
ards for,   188. 

Age  groups,  6;  and  the  education 
problem,  8. 

Americanization  work,  need  for,  in 
Boise,  159. 

Attendance,  at  high  school,  social 
status  a  factor  in,  252;  average 
daily,  and  costs,  273;  good  record 
of,  128;  machinery  for  control  of, 
weak,  34. 

Auditing,  board  committee  on,  27; 
should  be  done  by  accountant,  30. 

Ayres,  handwriting  scale  used,  85; 
spelling  scale  used,  94. 

Backward  pupils,  136,  146;  Batavia 
teachers  for,  147;  special  classes 
for,  148. 

Basements,  201. 

Batavia  plan  for  backward  pupils, 
160. 

Blackboards,  211. 

Board  of  Education,  as  state  officers, 
39;  committees  of,  27;  duties  of, 
outlmed,  30;  how  elected,  27; 
minutes  of  meetings  of,  inadequate, 
35 ;  powers  of,  23 ;  reorganization  of, 
proposed,  36;  rules  of,  should  be 
revised,  39;  should  define  func- 
tions of  officers,  38;  size  of, 
27;  term  of  members  of,  27. 

Boise,  as  a  city,  1-3;  adult  educa- 
tion in,  10;  as  a  state  educational 
experiment  station,  26;  charter  of, 
222;  educational  problem  of,  de- 
fined, I,  22;  educational  responsi- 
bility of,  20,  26;  expenditures  of, 


287 


16;  favorably  situated  for  main- 
taining schools,  283;  illiteracy  in» 
8;  income  of,  13;  racial  composi- 
tion of  population  of,  5;  tax  rate 
of,   relatively  low,   15,   54. 

Boise  compared  with  other  cities  in 
respect  to:  growth  of  population, 
3;  allotment  of  tiihe  to  spelling, 
78;  assessed  and  real  wealth,  14; 
cost  of  high  schools  in  comparison 
with  attendance,  273;  cost  of  in- 
struction, 276;  cost  of  schools  per 
person  5  to  19  years  old,  265;  cost 
of  schools  per  child  in  average  daily 
attendance,  267;  cost  of  schools  per 
unit  of  wealth,  268;  cost  of  schools 
per  young  adult,  270;  efficiency  in 
arithmetic,  108;  growth  of  popula- 
tion, 3;  illiteracy,  11;  per  capita 
cost  of  education,  264;  percentage 
of  city  expenditures  devoted  to 
education,  18;  percentage  of  high 
school  graduates  who  go  to  college, 
242 ;  percentage  of  total  enrollment 
found  in  high  school,  228;  pupils  in 
attendance  per  teacher,  55 ;  retarda- 
tion, 133;  size  of  different  age 
groups  in  the  city,  7;  tax  rate  and 
per  capita  cost  of  city  government, 
IS;  teachers'  salaries,  61. 

Budget,  by  whom  adopted,  30,  32; 
need  for,  279;  relation  of,  to  ad- 
ministrative policy,  280. 

Buildings.     See  School  buildings. 

Business  management,  262;  how 
handled,  276. 

Children's  home,  158, 

Classrooms    210;  equipment  of,  21 S; 

standard  for,  214. 
Clerk,  as  purchasing  agent,  37,  278. 
Conmiittees,  board  of  education,  27; 

evils  of,   29;   how   appointed,   27; 

need  for  temporary,  24;  objections 

to  standing,  28;   on  auditing  and 


288 


Index 


finance  not  necessary,  30;  teach- 
ing, 42. 

Constitution,  provisions  for  educa- 
tion in,  22. 

Contagion  in  schools,  173;  sources  of, 
183. 

Cost,  accounting,  278;  and  average 
daily  attendance,  273;  and  busi- 
ness management,  262;  compara- 
tive study  of,  IS,  18,  263;  in 
elementary  and  high  schools  com- 
pared, 272;  of  education,  272,  276; 
per  person  s  to  19  years  old,  265; 
per  child  in  average  daily  attend- 
ance, 267;  per  unit  of  city's 
wealth,  268;  per  capita  of  young 
adults,  268;  over  a  ten -year  period, 
271;  salaries,  53,  58;  units  of,  279. 

Courses  of  study,  64,  67;  administra- 
tion of  high  schools,  234;  and  size 
of  staff,  54;  Boise's  independence  in 
matters  of,  80;  high  school,  229, 
231;  in  algebra,  74;  in  English,  71; 
in  history  and  civics,  74;  in  mathe- 
matics, 74;  in  music  and  art,  74;  in 
physical  training,  75;  in  science, 
71 ;  opportunities  for  socializing,  67; 
principles  of,  defined,  65;  should 
include  prevocational  courses,  69; 
superintendent  responsible  for,  32; 
what  printed  course  should  contain, 
69;  time  allotment  for,  75. 

Dependent  children,  155. 

Discipline,  board's  committee  on,  27. 

District,  legal  status  of,  22,  24,  26; 

provisions     for     indejjendent,     22; 

responsibility  of,  to  state,  24. 
Domestic  science,  73. 
Drinking  fountains,  207. 

Education,  adult,  10;  and  occupations, 
19;  Boise's  problem  of,  i;  cost  of, 
in  26  cities,  18;  illiteracy  a  problem 
in  public,  10. 

Educational  aims  and  problems,  i, 
22. 

Elimination  and  economic  status,  253. 

Enrollment,  in  Boise  and  other  cities, 
227;  in  elementary  and  high  schools, 
history  of,  226;  in  relation  to 
attendance,  128;  statistics  of,  42. 


Equipment,  83;  high  school,  228. 
Exceptional  children,  141. 
Expenditures,  Boise's  distribution  of, 
16 ;  comparative  study  of  dty,  18. 

Feeble-minded  children,  150;  examples 

of,  in  Boise,  151. 
Finance,    board's   committee    on,    27. 

See  Cost. 
Fire  protection,  inadequate,  203. 

Grades,  not  satisfactory  basis  of 
classification    in    spelling,    103. 

Graduates,  what  becomes  of  8th-grade, 
224. 

Handwriting,  quality  of,  87;  rate  of, 
90;  relation  of  quality  to  speed  in, 
91;  results  of  tests  in,  85,  89; 
teaching  of,  94. 

Health  supervision,  importance  of, 
168;  inadequate,  35;  proposed  plan 
for,  35- 

Health  survey,  169. 

Health  work,  161 ;  forms  used  in,  162 ; 
kinds  and  amounts  of,  167;  play 
and,  182. 

High  school,  administration  of,  227, 
237;  articulation  of,  with  elemen- 
tary school,  223;  attendance  rela- 
tively large,  68;  growth  of  staff, 
42 ;  experience  and  ages  of  staff,  48, 
so;  salaries  of  staff,  szy  S6;  social 
composition  and  training  of  staff. 
45,  52. 

Hygiene,  teaching  of,  184. 

Idaho,  Boise's  responsibility  for  illit- 
eracy in,  9,  10;  duty  of  legislature, 
22 ;  resources  of,  4. 

Illiteracy,  8;  Boise's  problem  of,  10; 
in  Idaho,  10;  in  the  West,  9. 

Income,  sources  of  Boise's,  13. 

Independent  districts,  state  provision 
for,  22. 

Individual  differences  In:  age,  135; 
arithmetic,  119;  conduct,  153;  men- 
tality, 142;  physique,  is8. 

Instruction,  efficiency  of,  82,  84,  85, 
9S;  observations  of,  83;  in  frac- 
tions weak,  114. 


Index 


289 


Insurance,  old-age,  23 ;  bearing  of  age 
statistics  upon  administration  of,  51. 

Janitors,  duties  of,  34;  health  of, 
186 ;  to  whom  responsible,  29,  34,  38. 

Junior  college,  Boise's  need  for,  65, 
241,    275. 

Juvenile  court  as  school  attendance 
machinery,  64. 

Juvenile  delinquency,  schools'  respon- 
sibility for,  154. 

Lavatories,  need  of,  208. 
Life-career  classes  needed,  247,  257. 
Lighting.    See  School  buildings. 

Manual  training,  not  well  provided 
for,  56;  domestic  science  and,  73. 

Map,  district  and  municipal  bound- 
aries, 23,  25. 

Medical    supervision,    38,    188. 

Mental  tests,  142;  a  basis  of  promo- 
tion, 14s. 

Night  schools,  20. 

Nurse,  duties  of  school,  161;  should 
have  additional  help,  168. 

Occupational  ambitions  of  pupils,  247 ; 
contrasted  with  present  occupa- 
tions of  fathers,  251. 

Occupations,  significance  of,  for  educa- 
tion, 12,  19,  24. 

Open-air  schools,  187. 

Opportunity  classes,  146. 

Organization,  Boise's  plan  of,  27;  a 
proposed  plan  of,  36;  causes  of 
weakness  in,  38,  39. 

Play,  and  health,  182. 

Playgrounds,  196;  equipment  of,  197. 

Population,  age  distribution  of,  7; 
Boise's  rate  of  increase  in,  2;  com- 
parative study  of,  in  cities,  3; 
occupational  distribution  of,  12; 
illiteracy  in  Boise's,  8,  10;  racial 
composition  of,  4. 

Principals,  men,  needed,  43;  number 
of,  41 ;  teaching,  29,  31,  40. 

Promotion,  right  basis  of,  131,  145. 

Reports,    superintendent's,    32. 
Research  department,  158. 


Retardation,  causes  of,  137. 

Retarded   pupils,    132;    in   Boise,   as 

compared  with  other  cities,  133. 
Retirement  funds,  23;  age  of  teachers 

and  the,  50. 

Salaries,  board's  committee  on,  27; 
comparative  study  of,  58,  59;  Dr. 
Bryan's  comments  on,  57;  expendi- 
ture for,  56;  schedule  of,  53. 

Scholarship,  high  school,  and  grading, 
238. 

School  buildings,  22,  192;  ages  of 
Boise's,  192,  217;  basements  of,  201; 
board's  committee  on,  27;  fire  pro- 
tection in,  204;  grounds  of,  196; 
high  school,  228;  inspection  of,  33; 
lighting  of,  212;  measured  by 
standard  scale,  194;  placement  of, 
198;  title  of  inspector  of,  should  be 
changed,  40;  types  of,  199. 

Schools,  charter  provisions  for,  26;  as 
social  agencies,  34;  homogeneity  of 
population  of,  4 ;  population  of,  rela- 
tively small  in  Boise,  6 ;  state  super- 
vision of,  26;  work  of,  not  well 
coordinated,  33. 

Special  classes,  need  for,  144,  160; 
rooms  for,  216. 

Special  rooms,  216. 

Spelling,  tests  of,  94 ;  time  devoted  to. 
78. 

Superintendent,  duties  of,  27,  30,  33, 
36,  42. 

Supervision,  82 ;  attitude  of  principals 
toward,  32;  Boise's  plan  of,  weak, 
31,  41;  desirable  changes  proposed 
for,  33;  health,  inadequate,  35; 
judged  by  results  of  tests,  85,  105, 
114,  126;  judged  by  observation  of 
instruction,  84;  of  study  in  high 
school,  240. 

Tax,  rate  of  levy,  comparative  study 
of,  IS. 

Teachers,  appointed  by  whom,  30; 
ages  of,  50;  board's  committee  on, 
27;  changes  in  Boise's  staff  of,  44; 
experience  and  tenure  of,  48;  health 
of,  186;  high  school,  229;  increase 
in  number  of,  needed,  41,  42,  82; 
influence  of  war  on  staff  of,   54; 


290 


Index 


men,  needed,  43;  pupO  attendance 
and  number  of,  55;  salaries  of, 
53 ;  social  composition  of,  52 ;  train- 
ing of,  45,  47. 

Tests,  84;  arithmetic,  106,  108,  112; 
handwriting,  85 ;  psychological, 
needed  in  vocational  guidance,  259; 
spelling,  94;  variation  in  results  of, 
84,  94- 

Textbooks,  district  may  select  its  own, 
23;  board  committee  on,  27;  super- 
intendent should  select,  30,  32. 

Time  allotment,  75,  102,  105;  de- 
tails of,  for  spelling,  78;  in  Boise 
as  compared  with  other  cities,  79; 
revision  of,  needed,  126;  variation 
of,  among  schools,  76. 


Toilets,  201,  209. 

Truancy,  not  well  handled,  34. 

Trustees.    See  Board  of  Education. 

Ungraded  rooms,  need  for,  55. 

Ventilation,   175,   186,   202. 

Vision   tests  needed,   180. 

Visiting  teacher,  34;  health  work  and 

the,    168;    and    school   attendance, 

168. 
Vocational  guidance,  247;  information 

needed  in,  257;  reasonable  program 

of,  256. 

Wealth,  Boise's,  12,  14. 
Windows,  213. 


pminmiiimnnmmmninimmmnmimmHmnmHiimmmmmiimiiininiinnnnmiinmntiHmimimmmiminmnmni^^^ 
A  curriculum  in  tune  ivith  modern  life 

CHILD    LIFE    AND    THE 
CURRICULUM 

By  Junius  L.  Meriam 

Tffttfr  tf  Sih—l  Sufervishn  and  Sup*rint$nd$nt  •f  tht    University  Sch»»l)^ 
Univ*rsity  •/  Missouri 

The  traditional  curriculum  is  tottering  and  crumbling.  The  demand 
is  for  less  formality  and  more  vitality  in  education.  Public  schools 
must  give  more  attention  to  current  problems  in  home,  community, 
and  national  life.  The  subjects  taught  in  the  schoolroom  must  relate 
more  closely  to  the  child's  life. 

Here  is  proposed  a  really  modem  course  of  study.  The  author  statet 
his  theory  in  the  light  of  more  than  a  dozen  years'  practical  experience. 
His  work  presents  a  notable  amount  of  modem  educational  practice 
that  warrants  the  critical  consideration  of  school  officials,  school 
teachers,  and  school  communities. 

His  book  gives  a  thorough  discussion  of  almost  every  problem  that  is 
likely  to  arise  in  the  conduct  of  an  elementary  school.  Ideas  of  the 
leaders  of  educational  thought  are  carefully  evaluated,  with  experience 
as  the  touchstone,  and  the  very  latest  developments  in  education  are 
ably  considered. 

Among  the  many  excellent  chapters  probably  the  most  noteworthy 
is  the  one  on  educational  tests  and  measurements.  The  author,  who 
keeps  his  feet  on  the  ground,  makes  no  attempt  to  offer  a  panacea  for 
aU  the  ills  of  elementary  education;  he  does,  however,  pomt  to  relief 
and  a  way  out  of  the  beaten  path. 

Other  features  of  this  book  of  special  help  are  the  following: 

1    Statement  outline  for  each  chapter. 

3  Lists  of  supplementary  readings  and  general  references  at 
the  ends  of  chapters.  These  constitute  a  good  biblioc^raplqr 
of  modem  educational  literature. 

8  Nxmierous  tables  of  information  relating  to  causes  of 
withdrawals,  school  subjects  and  time  assignments,  die* 
tribution  of  grades,  books  read  in  different  grades. 

4  Outlined  curriculum  of  the  University  of  Missouri  Elemen« 
tary  School. 

The  author  not  only  indicates  the  ix>ssibility  of  greater  service  on  the 
I>art  of  the  school;  he  x>oints  the  way  from  the  vantage  point  of  substan- 
tial achievement. 

CUth.   xii  +  S38  fagts 

WORLD  BOOK  COMPANY 

YONICERS-ON-HUDSON,  NeW  YoRK 

2126  Pkairie  Avenue,  Chicago 
innniniifflnnninnimnmmmimnnmimmniwnimmiinnnnimimniiiHmimiuimmnnnnniiiniuiiiiin 


UWIIIIIMIIUIIIIIIIIIIIIIUIIIIUIlllllllllllllllinilllllllllMIIUIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIHIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIUIIIIIHIIIIinillllllllllllllllU 

I 

The  first  book  on  reconstruction  i 

Published  Noifember  igi8  I 

DEMOCRACY    AND  I 

f    WORLD    RELATIONS  | 

By  DAVID  STARR  JORDAN  I 

1.  It  aims  to  show  that  self-government  Is  essential  to  | 
freedom,  order,  and  justice,  and  that  the  permanence  | 
of  democracy  is  bound  up  with  international  peace,  | 
while  the  dynastic  system  is  antagonistic  to  both  de-  | 
mocracy  and  peace.  | 

2.  It  will  contribute  toward  solving  the  puzzling  prob-  | 
lems  of  reorganizing  government,  industry,  and  hu-  | 
man  relationships  generally,  in  a  new-born  world,  by  | 
applying  scientific  knowledge  to  their  solution.  | 

3.  It  Is  courageous  from  start  to  finish — and  sanely  opti-  | 
mistic.  There  is  no  note  of  "pacifism."  It  does  not  | 
deal  with  the  war,  but  with  conditions  which  preceded  | 

I             it  and  those  which  arc  following  it.  | 

I       4.  Its  contents  cover   General   Considerations,  National-  | 

I              ism,  the  Dynastic  State,  Imperialism  and  Trade,  Na-  | 

I             ture  of  Democracy,  Internationalism  and   Federation,  | 

I              International     Law,    Arbitration    and    Conciliation,    a  I 

I             New  Order,  and  an  Appendix  on  Pan-germanlsm.  | 

I        5.   It  moves  along  with  cumulative  persuasion  from  gen-  | 

I             eral  considerations   to  particular  illustrations.  | 

I        6.  It  Is  written  in  a  candid,  non-controversial  spirit,  as  | 
I              a  text  or  reference  book  for  classes  in  history  and  gov- 
I              ernment  in  high  schools  and  colleges. 

I  Cloth.    vi7-|-158  pages. 

\  WORLD  BOOK  COMPANY 

I  YONKERS-ON-HUDSON,  N»W  YORK 

I  2126  Pkaikik  Avknub,  Chicago 

s 

iilllllllllllllllllllllinillllllllllHIHIIIIIIMIIIUIMIMUIMnMinilllllllllHIIMIIIIIIMIUIIUIIIIinMIIIIIMIMtllllllllMIIIIIIIIIIMItMIMMIIinilNlUi 


I  PLAY  SCHOOL  SERIES 

I  Edited  by  Clark  W.  Hetherington 

\    Educating  by  Story-Telling 

I 

i  SHOWING     THE     VALUE     OF     STORY-TELLING     AS     AN     EDUCA- 

TIONAL TOOL  FOR  THE   USE  OF  ALL  WORKERS  WITH  CHILDREN 

By  Katherine  Dunlap  Gather 

LATELY  an  understanding  has  been  growing  of  the 
■^  usefulness  of  the  story  as  a  tool  for  imparting  infor- 
mation, for  leading  to  an  appreciation  of  the  beautiful  in 
literature  and  art,  and  for  establishing  higher  standards 
of  thought  and  actions  besides  being  a  means  of  enter- 
tainment. 

In  this  book  the  various  story  interests  of  children  are 
analyzed  and  classified,  the  construction  of  stories  suit- 
able to  be  told  to  children  is  explained.  The  principles 
of  story-telling  are  discussed  and  helpful  suggestions  on 
the  manner  of  telling  are  given. 

Finally  there  is  a  discussion  of  types  of  stories  that  lead 
to  appreciation  of  music  and  art,  and  that  supplement 
history,  geography,  nature  study,  and  manual  training 
lessons.  The  teaching  of  ethics  through  story-telling 
is  discussed  and  attention  is  directed  also  to  the  use  of 
story-telling  as  a  basis  for  dramatization.  Each  chapter 
ends  with  a  bibliography  of  stories  of  the  type  considered 
in  the  chapter.  There  is  a  general  bibliography  of  story 
literature  and  a  list  of  stories  arranged  by  grades  for  use  I 
in  each  month  of  the  year.  | 

The  book  contains  thirty  stories,  models  of  simple  and  | 
i  direct  narrative,  many  of  which  will  be  new  even  to  | 
I       experienced  story-tellers.  | 

I       It  will  give  experienced  story-tellers  many  new  ideas  and        | 


give  help  and  encouragement  to  the  inexperienced. 
The  author  is  perhaps  the  best  known  writer  on  story- 
telling in  this  country. 

Cloth.    XX -\- 396  pages. 

WORLD  BOOK  COMPANY 

YONKERS-ON-HUDSON,  NeW  YoRK 

2126  Prairie  Avenue,  Chicago 


s 


nilllllllllllllllllllllllllllMIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIMIIIIIIIMIIIMIItlMIIIIMIII 

A  COLLECTION  OF  THE  WORLD'S  BEST  LITERA- 
TURE FOR  CHILDREN 

TYPES  OF  CHILDREN'S 
LITERATURE 

Collected  and  Edited  by  Walter  Barnes 

Head  of  the  Department  of  EngUsk,  Biate  Normai  School,  Fotrnumt,  W.  Va, 

THIS  book  for  the  first  time  presents  in  convenient 
form  the  source  material  that  teachers  and  students 
of  the  literature  of  childhood  most  need  to  have 
available.  It  is  made  up  of  classified  masterpieces  that 
were  selected  after  a  thorough  sifting  of  every  type  of 
children's  literature.  The  different  forms  of  poetry  and 
narrative,  and  descriptions,  sketches,  essays,  and  letters 
are   represented. 

Every  piece  is  a  complete  unit  or  is  at  least  easily  de- 
tached from  its  original  setting,  like  an  Uncle  Remus  or 
an  Arabian-Nights  story.  The  selections  are  arranged 
as  nearly  as  may  be  in  the  order  of  increasing  difficulty. 
The  versions  given  are  the  definitive  and  authoritative 
ones.  The  space  devoted  to  each  type  of  writing  has 
been  justly   apportioned. 

A  bibliography,  index  to  authors,  titles,  and  first  lines  of 
poems  and  helpful  notes  are  included.  It  is  attractive 
in  appearance.  Though  primarily  designed  for  use  in 
normal-school,  college  and  library  classes,  it  will  interest 
teachers  and  parents  generally,  and  it  should  be  put  into 
the  hands  of  children. 

xiii-j-^d?  pages, 

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Yon xxms-oN -Hudson,  Nbw  Yoxx 
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Studies  in  Methods  of  Teaching  in  the  College 

COLLEGE     TEACHING 

Edited  by  Paul  Klapper 

npHE  introduction  to  this  first  book  on  this  subject  is  the 
work  of  President  Nicholas  Murray  Butler  of  Columbia 
University.  Thirty-one  leading  American  authorities  are 
the  authors  of  the  chapters  which  deal  with  every  subject  in 
the  college  curriculum.  These  were  written  on  the  same  plan, 
which  makes  the  volume  a  unified  production.  The  writers 
were  selected  for  their  scholarship,  interest  in  the  teaching 
phase  of  the  subject,  and  reputation  in  the  academic  world. 

The  book  is  divided  into  six  parts  as  follows: 

The  Introductory  Studies 

The  Sciences 

The  Social  Sciences 

The  Languages  and  Literatures 

The  Arts 

Vocational  Subjects 

A  treasure  of  wisdom  is  stored  in  the  colleges  of  America.  The 
teachers  in  them  are  the  custodians  of  the  knowledge.  Impar- 
ting this  knowledge  is  the  function  of  these  institutions  of 
higher  learning.  To  do  this  most  effectively  is  the  plan  of  every 
instructor.  This  book  aims  to  make  the  college  teacher  effi- 
cient in  handing  down  this  heritage  of  knowledge,  rich  and 
vital,  that  will  develop  in  youth  the  power  of  right  thinking 
and  the  courage  of  right  living 

Dr.  Butler  writes  that  *'a  careful  reading  of  the  book  is  com- 
mended not  only  to  the  great  army  of  college  teachers  and 
college  students,  but  to  that  still  greater  army  of  those  who, 
whether  as  alumni  or  parents  or  as  citizens,  are  deeply  con- 
cerned with  the  preservation  of  the  influence  and  character 
of  the  American  college  for  its  effect  upon  our  national  stan- 
dards of  thought  and  action  *' 

Cloth,    xoi +583  pages, 

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YONKERS-ON-HUDSON,    New    YoRK 

2126    Prairie   Avenue^    Chicago 


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Complete  list  of  the 

School  Efficiency  Series 

Edited  by  Paul  H.  Hanus,  of  Harvard  University 

**0h*  t/tht  must  ntttwrthjf  undtrtakings  in  fr»f$ttUn*l  tdmcmthn  •/ 
thtttnturji" — Professor  C.  H.  Johnston,  Univtnltj  •/  lUin»ii 

FXAKK    P.    Bachuan.      Problems    in    Elementary    School    Adminittration. 

Frank  W.  Ballou.    High  School  Organization. 

S.  A.  Courtis.    Standards  in  Arithmetic.     In  preparation 

ElXWOOD    P.   CUBBERLEY,    FlETCHER    B.     DrESSLAR,     EoWARD    C.     ElLIOTT, 

J.  H.  Francis,  Frank  E.  Spaulding,  and   Lewis  M.  Terman.    The 
Portland  Survey. 

Calvin  O.  Davis.    High  School  Courses  of  Study. 

EIdward  C.  Elliott.    City  School  Supervision. 

Henry  H.  Goddaro.    School  Training  of  Defective  Children. 

Paul  H.  Hanus.    School  Efficiency :  A  Constructive  Study. 

Frank  M.  McMurry.  Elemenury  School  Standards.  Instruction:  Course 
of  Study :  Supervision. 

Ermbst  C.  Moore.  How  New  York  City  Administers  Its  Schools:  A  Con- 
structive Study. 

Herman  Schneider.    Education  for  Industrial  Workers. 

George  D.  Strayer,  Frank  P.  Bachman.  Ellwood  P.  Cubberley, 
WiLLLUi  T.  Bawden,  and  F.  J.  Kelly.  Some  Problems  in  City  School 
Administration. 

Frank  V.  THOuPtOH.    Commercial  Education  in  Public  Secondary  Schools^ 


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2126  Prairie  Avenue,  Chicago 

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UNIVERSITY  OF  CALIFORNIA  LIBRARY 


